[nabs-l] Forum for discussing social/emotional issues with other blind folks

[Jedi Moerke]

What makes groups like the one you're suggesting so powerful is the ability to mentor each other. No mental health experiences needed to be an excellent mentor. It only takes listening skills and common sense. I don't think there's a mentor alive and any subject who is devoid of the issues they are helping somebody else with. That's just the nature of being human. We think we've learned our lesson in a particular area, but it comes back up at some point in our future. So what you ultimately wind up with is a circular mentoring process. And when it comes to list like this one, the one who often suggests it is often one of the people who needs it  the most. And in my view, that's not a bad thing. It's like they say: necessity is the mother of invention.

Sent from my iPhone

On Feb 18, 2013, at 5:11 PM, Desiree Oudinot <turtlepower17 at gmail.com> wrote:

> Hi all,
> Since I was the person who  initially raised this suggestion, I guess
> I'd better speak up.
> While I do think this is a great idea, and would like to see it
> happen, I'm not sure I'm the right person to even suggest it. Pardon
> the pun, but I'm not so sure having the blind lead the blind is such a
> good idea. To cut to the point, I'm not sure if it would be right of
> me to moderate such a list when I know I would use it to air out some
> of my own problems. I'm also not a psychologist, social worker or any
> other mental health worker. I only bring this up because I'm not sure
> how formal this group would have to be, and I don't want any trouble.
> My only other hang-up is that I'm not very good at thinking up clever
> names, and I'm drawing a blank as to what this hypothetical list
> should be called. I'm sure others may have some suggestions, though,
> so that's just a minor inconvenience.
> So, what do you all think? Would you want the list to be moderated and
> ran by a trained mental health worker? Would you feel uncomfortable
> with a moderator who used the list for its intended purpose, rather
> than just sitting in the background and dealing with problems, both
> tech-related and within the list's members? Let me know, and I'll
> think about it some more.
> 
> On 2/18/13, Arielle Silverman <arielle71 at gmail.com> wrote:
>> I can moderate, but would prefer someone who is more tech-savvy than I
>> to actually set up the list initially.
>> Arielle
>> 
>> On 2/18/13, Loren Wakefield <theweird1 at centurylink.net> wrote:
>>> It would be a great idea.  I don't know how those groups work.  But I
>>> suppose one could find out.  However, I am not sure that I would have the
>>> time to be its moderator.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: nabs-l [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Carly
>>> Mihalakis
>>> Sent: Monday, February 18, 2013 3:40 PM
>>> To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list;
>>> nabs-l at nfbnet.org
>>> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Forum for discussing social/emotional issues with
>>> other blind folks
>>> 
>>> Great idea! Unfortunately, i am not qualified to set up, or moderate the
>>> thing, although it is a great idea.At 01:31 PM 2/18/2013, Arielle
>>> Silverman
>>> wrote:
>>>> Hi all,
>>>> A while back some of us talked about creating a list on YahooGroups or
>>>> GoogleGroups where blind students and mentors could talk about
>>>> sexuality and social issues. I am wondering if we should go ahead and
>>>> create this list to be a separate place from NABS-L and one where the
>>>> topic is a bit more relaxed so that people could post about
>>>> relationship issues, family difficulties etc. If the list is hosted on
>>>> YahooGroups, the archives will be private so no one who is not
>>>> subscribed will be able to read the content of the list (and
>>>> GoogleGroups might be that way too; I'd have to check).
>>>> The NFB lists tend to be a little strict about topic since they are
>>>> publicly archived and since they are intended to be about a very
>>>> specific topic. However that doesn't mean we can't create a separate
>>>> list that is more of a support group rather than a place to obtain
>>>> information.
>>>> Does someone want to go ahead and do this?
>>>> Arielle
>>>> 
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>> 
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