These are the results of the survey. If you are interested in learning more about it and what we will do with the results, please come to the Intergroup Meeting on September 12 at Victoria General Hospital at 8:30 pm. Are all welcome to come. The meeting will start right after the Thursday Renegades meeting which starts at 7:30 pm.

Intergroup Member Survey

1. How did you hear about OA?
_8__ another OA member
_4__ family member
_3__ friend
_4__ healthcare professional
_8__ internet/social media
_2__ newspaper article
_6__ don’t remember
_8__ other
-Another 12 step program
-magazine article
-health show
-poster
-wellness institute
-mike and molly

2. What brought you to OA?
___ anorexia/restricting
_2__ binge/purge cycling
_23__ out-of-control eating
_22__ overweight/to lose weight

3. How long have you been attending OA meetings?
_5__ less than a year
_16__ 1-5 years
_7__ 6-10 years
_13__ more than 10 years

4. How often do you attend OA meetings?
_11__ more than once a week
_21__ once a week
_8__ less than once a week
1 no longer attending

5. Do you work with a sponsor?
_29__ yes
_13__ no

6. If you are not currently working with a sponsor, what is the reason?
___ bad prior experience with a sponsor
___ can’t find a sponsor
_4__ haven’t looked for a sponsor
___ simply in-between sponsors
_10__ other
-keep to myself
-haven’t connected yet
-Bad experience with OA
-Haven’t kept in touch
-contact w/ sponsor erratic
-no connection
-not going to meetings and other family issues
-I have recovered and help sponsor others

7. How long have you been abstinent (refrained from compulsive eating and compulsive food behaviours while working towards or maintaining a healthy body weight)?
_18__ less than 3 months
_10__ 3-12 months
_5__ 1-5 years
_3__ 6-10 years
_2__ more than 11 years

8. What keeps you coming back? Check all that apply.
_18__ fear of relapse
_28__ fellowship: love, support, acceptance
_24__ found a new way of living (sanity, peace)
_18__ Higher Power
_17__ hope: people have what I want
_14__ I’ve tried everything else
_18__ OA works if you work it
_14__ to give service
_20__ 12 Steps as a way of life
_5__ other
-recovery and health
-stopped coming/illness came back
-have no choice. Only thing that has worked
-If I don’t practice the 12 steps, I will go back to compulsive eating
-don’t come back anymore

9. Have you ever left OA?
_18__ yes
_23__ no

10. If you have left OA in the past, what was/were the reason(s)? Check all that apply.
_4__ family issues (including pregnancy)
_3__ health issues
_4__ lack of recovery in the meetings
___ meeting closed
_7__ not ready/not willing
_3__ scheduling problem/busy schedule
_4__ wanted to do it on my own
_8__ other
-family member thought OA wasn’t working and tried other things
-nurse therapist at disorder program suggested something else
-attended but wasn’t working the steps. I’m also not religious and have a problem wrapping my head around God and a higher power.
-lack of compassion from most people. Don’t need uncaring community. In other matters I do not appreciate you revealing my email address to everyone.
-Had a conflict with another member that made it difficult to attend the meeting I liked.
-recovery from surgery/hard to attend
-do not remember

11. If you have ever left OA, what brought you back?
_6__ maturity/willingness
_7__ needed the OA fellowship
_6__ nothing else works
_7__ relapse: physical, emotional, spiritual
_4__ other
-counselor
-desperation
-was stagnating
-needed a face to face meeting
-knew I had to come back
-wanted to stop and prayed for willingness

12. Have you ever relapsed (lost abstinence)?
_36__ yes
_4__ no

13. If you have ever relapsed, please describe your experience:
_3__ struggled early on, but have been abstinent now for years
_8__ relapsed once or twice but currently abstinent
_22__ have struggled with maintaining abstinence
_3__ other
-After many years, had a relapse on a couple of occasions, which happened before I realized it. At the time not as connected or working the steps w/sponsor.
-bad decision, back on track the next day
-Just started eating plan

14. Are you currently in recovery?
_30__ yes
_14__ no

15. What do you think is the most important thing you personally need to do to strengthen your recovery, whether you are abstinent or in relapse? (check all that apply)
_23__ accept I truly have a disease
_27__ increase my spirituality
_16__ increase use of the tools
_12__ offer more service/pass it on
_20__ reach out to others (don’t isolate)
_15__ surrender to program suggestions
_19__ tighten plan of eating
_22__ work/complete/re-do the Steps
_19__ work with a sponsor
_5__ other
-become abstinent
-I don’t know
-staying close to HP
-go to meetings
-quantity has been an issue which leads to grey area of food. What is a break, what isn’t and spin around trigger of mental obsession.

16. On average, how many people usually attend your home meeting?
3 -10= 4 4-12 = 3 5 -7= 18 8 -10=11 10 -15 =19

17. What do you see as strengths in your home meeting? (check all that apply)
_26__ anonymity practiced
_33__ atmosphere: accepting, friendly, supportive
_32__ committed members
_23__ focus on Steps and Traditions
_23__ good format
_30__ opportunity to share
_29__ people in recovery
_18__ people willing to give service
_8__ regular contact among members between meetings
_22__ sponsors available
_13__ strong attendance
_5__ other
-fellowship meal after meeting
-All strengths except people willing to give service and contact among members very bad.
-Big book focus, honesty and humility in members.
-Big book study

18. What do you see as weaknesses in your home meeting? (check all that apply)
_5__ cliquey/excluding of some/selective interaction
_11__ controlling personalities
_1__ cross-talk
_2__ disorganization
_2__ don’t get to share as much as I would like
_19__ lack of contact among members between meetings
_1__ gossip
_5__ lack of recovery
_9__ lack of sponsors
_14__ low attendance
___ meeting format not followed
___ newcomers ignored
_4__ sharing only focused on problems, not the solution
___ Steps and Traditions not the focus
_5__ other
-focus on negative, not enough focus on the positive
-format need to be changed
-lack of willingness to give service at group level and beyond. Stale without a lot of newcomers or enthusiastic recovery but not at healthy body weight.
-No one really cares so don’t continue pretending you do
-lack of explaining how everything works
-no time limit set for each person sharing. Some ramble on for 20 min, leaving little time for others.

19. Does your home meeting get newcomers?
_35__ yes _4__ no

20. Approximately what percentage of newcomers return after their first meeting?
_4__ 75%
_5__ 50%
_18__ 25%
_12__ almost none

21. If newcomers don’t usually return, what do you think is the reason?
___ don’t feel welcomed at first meeting
_4__ lack of program information
_2__ lack of recovery in meeting
___ lack of sponsors
___ negative meeting atmosphere
_15__ no follow-up calls
_7__ time/location/day not right for them
_25__ other
-not ready/willing 12 -might seem difficult -1
-not right for them – 4 -not what they expected -1
-overwhelmed by info – 1 -try something else – 1
-not sure – 1 -don’t understand Big Book

22. Have you ever heard of the OA Heart of Canada Intergroup?
_37_ yes
_5__ no

23. If you had heard of it previously, how did you come to know of it?
_8__ another OA member
___ OA Heart of Canada website
_30__ OA meetings
___ social media
___ other _____________________________________________________

24. How important to you are the following Intergroup services? Rate the options High (H), Medium (M), Low (L).

H – 20 M – 2 L – 4 ___ assisting with meeting publicity
H – 4 M – 9 L – 3 ___ assisting your meeting with inventories 1 person didn’t understand this
H – 8 M – 6 L – 5 ___ creating training videos to supplement sponsorship
H – 13 M – 9 L – 1 ___ maintaining a speaker bank
H – 12 M – 6 L – 2 ___ maintaining a sponsor bank
H – 31 M – 4 L – 0 ___ organizing conferences/weekend workshops
H – 21 M – 2 L – 2 ___ organizing Step studies
H – 11 M – 3 L – 6 ___ publishing a newsletter
H – 17 M – 5 L – 0 ___ providing training workshops (see next question below)
H – 21 M – 6 L – 0 ___ public information
_5__ other
-Emphasize importance if owing traditions and consistency when it comes to money in groups. Ie. Having 2 people count collection and having the treasurer balance a book showing income and expenditures balances.

25. How important to you are the following possible training workshop topics? Rate the options as High (H), Medium (M), Low (L).
H – 32 M – 2 ___ abstinence
H – 22 M – 5 ___ attracting and retaining newcomers
H – 28 M – 2 ___ being a sponsor, being sponsored
H – 24 M – 4 L – 4 ___ Big Book study
H – 15 M – 2 L – 5 ___ body image/changes
H – 21 M – 4 ___ 4th Step workshops
H – 12 M – 4 L – 2 ___ giving service
H – 21 M – 4 ___ member retention
H – 14 M – 9 L – 4 ___ plans of eating
H – 34 ___ relapse prevention and recovery
H – 10 M – 2 L – 7 ___ 12 Traditions
H – 19 M – 7 ___ using the tools
H – 21 M – 4 ___ working Steps 1-3
H – 22 M – 2 ___ working Steps 4-7
H – 21 M – 2 ___ working Steps 8 and 9
H – 33 M – 3 ___ working Steps 10-12
_2__ other
– Spirituality/Higher power
– Workshop on healthy meetings

26. Rate the following possible Intergroup newsletter topics as High (H), Medium (M), Low (L) interest.
H – 17 M – 4 ___ Anonymity: what it is, what it isn’t
H – 19 M – 2 ___ Characteristics of a Great Meeting
H – 24 M – 2 ___ Characteristics of a Great Sponsor
H – 14 M – 3 L – 7___ Conducting Group Business Meetings
H – 29 L – 2 ___ First Things First: Getting Your Recovery Program Started
H – 14 M – 2 ___ 4th Step Options
H – 16 M – 5 L – 3 ___ Group Conscience: what it is
H – 9 M – 4 L – 5___ Meeting Formats: OA Recommendations
H – 22 M – 4 L – 2___ Nurturing Newcomers
H – 13 M – 4 L – 4___ Taking a Group Inventory
H – 25 M – 2 ___ What Each of Us Can Do to Keep OA Strong

__2_ other ideas for newsletter articles:
-Intergroup News
-Being careful to avoid Dominance in meetings
-Don’t read them

27. What can Intergroup do to help your meeting? These are ideas that people have shared in the past. Check all that apply and add your own ideas, too.
_15__ feature individual meetings in newsletters
_20__ help increase attendance at meetings
_25__ help train sponsors
_21__ improve communication from Intergroup to the groups
_17__ increase the number of sponsors available, including temporary sponsors
_21__ maintain a sponsor bank
_16__ organize more Intergroup activities
_17__ organize special events aimed at newcomers
_27__ provide assistance to struggling meetings
_26__ provide speakers
_18__ provide training for service positions such as treasurer, chair, secretary
_7__ not sure how Intergroup can help
__4_ other
– Don’t know enough
– Have people in Intergroup talk at meetings
– Get more posters out to doctors, etc.
– More public information in Universities, collages, doctors offices and hospitals.

28. Are you willing to support your Intergroup by offering service?
_24__ yes
_14__ no
3 not at this time

29. Please share any other comments, ideas, or suggestions that you have at this
time.
-Video for newcomers explaining all areas of OA, Intergroup, Funds, etc. For a newcomer, it is overwhelming and a video they can watch at their leisure is helpful.
-At this time Newsletter unnecessary (Lifeline). More important when Lifeline is finished.
-OA is great, it is my life.
-Intergroup needs strong leadership and need to take more issues to a vote, not just have certain people make the final decisions.
-I would love to work in Public Information in Intergroup but at this time in my life I am not available. I will be there when I am free!
-Have someone come in and speak on defining and maintaining abstinence.
-Time and place are inconvenient for me. My motivation for OA dropped dead after listening to an OA podcast where the guest speaker named Ruth (I think) shouted into the microphone, emphasizing how worthless and helpless we are. It was in the context of surrendering to a higher power, but it felt like a seriously heavy shaming. I couldn’t even finish the entire podcast episode. I can still hear her shouting voice in my head. I tried keeping on, going to meetings and such, but I had been completely turned off and eventually stopped going.

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