Dear Dennis:

I need some information on starting up a new support group in my city. I live in Karachi, Pakistan. There is a huge need for the parents living here to be able to share their stress and deal with it accordingly. I will appreciate if you could guide me. Regards. — Faiza

Dear Faiza:

Thanks you for your interest in B.I.L.Y. Before moving ahead, you need to collect a few parents who would be willing to make the commitment to help you get a group started. Once you have that in place, then you can begin to move forward. On our website there is a section that tells one how to start a group (see Start A Group). I would suggest that you print that out, and present it to the group of parents that are willing to help you.

Finding a place where you could hold your meeting weekly that would be free of charge is then one of the first steps. Once that is established, then you could send for our opening packet which gives you all the instructions for running a group.

I am sure that the need is great in your community, as it is all over the world today. It is so important that we as parents take hold of the situation and get back to basics. We need to set rules and see to it that they are followed through. We need to issue consequences for their negative behavior as well as reward their positive behavior. With the support of a weekly parent group, you will soon learn that in order for your children to make changes, the parents must first change.

You will most likely have many questions and concerns, as will the few parents that you will unite with in getting this group started. Prior to sending for the packet, gather together and then get back to me. I am only an email away. Good luck and I look forward to hearing back from you. — Dennis