Community Contacts

Content

Why have a contact person?

The purpose is to make group members aware who they can talk to with problems like:

See more about the benefits of a contact person in this post.

By default, in a small group the contact person will be whoever the visible organizer(s) are. As groups develop more, they may want to assign one or more contact people who aren’t necessarily also organizing events.

This role might have overlap with “thinking about how to generally make the group better and more welcoming,” but isn’t necessarily the same thing, and we’d like welcomingness to be seen as something that everyone has a part in, even if there are designated contact people.

Characteristics of a good contact person:

You will probably not find anyone who perfectly meets all the characteristics you might want in a contact person! Having someone who wants to do a good job and meets most of these characteristics is probably better than not having a contact person.

Making people aware

See “Notes on codes of conduct” for ideas on simple, friendly ways to make group members aware of who they can talk to.

We encourage you to let your community members know CEA's Community Health team exists.  

Other notes

Getting additional help

CEA's community health team

Have a low bar to reach out to CEA's community health team 

Catherine Low is the main contact person that is available to help group organisers and group members deal with issues. You can contact her by email (catherine@centreforeffectivealtruism.org), on the EA Groups slack, anonymously through her admonymous, or you can fill in this form to reach the whole team (this form can also be filled in anonymously). 

External help

If the situation involves mental health issues, you may want to suggest they seek professional help (and you may wish to help them access that support, for example, helping them work out what their insurance covers or helping them make an appointment),  

If the situation may have involved a crime, you may want to suggest they reach out to

University groups may be able to contact their Campus Police or Student Services. 

Resources

The Mediator’s Handbook - I haven’t ended up doing mediation per se, but I found this book helpful for getting a sense for what kind of things mediators do and thinking about helping people who are in conflict.

Helping someone who is having a panic attack

Reducing risk from alcohol at events

When a friend is feeling suicidal - more about people you already know well

What to do to help someone who may be suicidal - more about people you don’t know well

Resource for communities after the death of a member

Things that sometimes help if you have depression - by Scott Alexander, a psychiatrist and EA

Things that sometimes help if you have anxiety - also by Scott Alexander

EA Mental Health Navigators - can help match you to mental health services, provides an overview of mental health providers recommended by EAs, lists therapists and coaches in the EA community, and has a databank of mental health resources around the world.