CLICK HERE to find your Regional Coordinator.

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Your Resource “In the Trenches”

Regardless of the challenges you face, you do not have to deal with them alone as we’ve incorporated many ways for you to receive support in your volunteer role. Your Regional Coordinator (RC) or Local Coordinators (LC) are the closest contact and resource to you geographically. These folks are a dedicated group of volunteers who are in your state— possibly even your city—who can help you in a variety of ways.

The goals of Regional Coordinators (RCs) are:

• To mentor meeting facilitators and Local Coordinators (LCs) as they apply SMART Recovery principles in their volunteer roles;
• In conjunction with National Office staff, to help other volunteers understand SMART Recovery principles more fully and consider how to apply them in growing SMART meetings in their region;
• To be a resource and assist regional LCs and meeting facilitators in their areas;
• To offer guidance in starting and facilitating meetings, and to provide general support to regional LCs and area facilitators; and
• Leverage the resources of SMART Recovery USA to increase the number and availability of SMART Recovery meetings.

RCs provide guidance to LCs on new meeting development, speaking requests, and other administrative support for local meetings. RCs may also help in arranging new meetings in their area and may occasionally facilitate new meetings to model how to conduct meetings.  Many RCs also function as meeting facilitators on an ongoing basis. Ideally, each state will have an RC with several LCs supporting different areas within the state.

The goals of Local Coordinators (LCs) are:

• To serve as a resource for Regional Coordinators (RC)
• In areas with a cluster of local meetings where frequent face-to-face contact by the RC is difficult or even impossible; or
• In areas where local meetings have grown to a concentration that would benefit from guidance separate from the area primarily overseen by the RC.
• To provide an additional layer of support, guidance, accountability, and contact where meeting numbers make it difficult to maintain a consistent high level of support by the RC.

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Important Facts about Regional and Local Coordinators

1. RCs and LCs are NOT the “facilitator police.” They’re here to help and support you!
   • Your RC will reach out to you by phone or email after your training is complete. Please respond to them to let them know what your plans are— even if it’s just to say you do not plan to start a meeting at this time.
   • Your RC will also reach out to you periodically to see how things are going with you and your meetings. This is to check in with you, not check up on you. The information RC’s gather about the meetings in their region are shared with the National Office to help make sure we, as an organization, are providing the best support and training possible for our volunteers.
2. Facilitating meetings can be challenging and issues can come up, no matter how long you have been facilitating. Your RC and/or LC is here to help and support you with any challenges or issues you encounter, including:
   • Finding/maintaining a meeting location;
   • A change to your schedule, job or location that might result in cancelling your meeting;
   • Your meeting is not very well attended;
   • You need to take some time off (for any reason);
   • Difficulty with a meeting participant;
   • The event of a lapse/relapse;
   • Burnout; and
   • Any other issues that may arise.

We encourage you to your reach out to your RC or LC at the first sign of trouble. We want to help meet your needs as a facilitator so that you can maintain your own lifestyle balance AND to make sure anyone who wants to attend a SMART Recovery meeting has one in their area. The earlier you reach out, the sooner we can work with you to avoid having to place a meeting on hiatus or cancel it altogether.

If you cannot reach your RC, please contact our Director of Meetings and Volunteers, Melina Gilbert, at [email protected].

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Become a Regional Coordinator

If you are interested in being a Regional Coordinator and have been a facilitator for a minimum of one year, the process is simple.

Please email an interest letter to the Director of Meetings and Volunteers, Melina Gilbert at [email protected] containing the following information:

• Your general background and reason for your interest
• How did you come into contact with SMART Recovery? When?
• How long have you been facilitating?
• How do you see yourself being able to contribute to SMART Recovery in your new position?
• Do you have any goals in mind for your region?
• Anything else about you or your experiences/skills that you feel would help you in the position.

Letters are reviewed by the Director of Meetings and Volunteers and Regional Coordinator Co-chairs then shared with RC Committee for feedback. After review and approval, the Executive Director appoints the position.

Become a Local Coordinator

If you are interested in being a Local Coordinator, please email a letter of interest, containing the following information, to the Director of Meetings and Volunteers, Melina Gilbert at [email protected].

• Your general background and reason for interest.
• Your history with SMART Recovery; and
• Anything else about yourself that you feel would help you in the position.

Letters are reviewed by the Executive Director, Director of Meetings and Volunteers and Regional Coordinator Co-chairs then shared with RC Committee for feedback.