Welcome to Hope Family Village. Now incorporated, we continue to move forward on many fronts.

Scott, Corey, and Matt

In late September, Matt, Scott and I attended the 33rd Annual Fairweather Lodge Conference in Erie, PA. There were 100 participants.

Organized and hosted by Stairways Behavioral Health, we were treated to discussions of veterans lodges; taught how to write a haiku; given ideas for finding a job; and learned the importance of being active and socially

Matt and Scott (left) @ Stairways Behavioral Health’s Training Lodge Erie, PA

engaged for brain health.

These conferences are incredibly inspirational. We meet other agencies from around the country, lodge coordinators, and lodge residents.

As we seek to establish a lodge in the Williamsburg area, we visited a training lodge operated by Stairways.

In the meantime, we created a “virtual lodge” together. The Williamsburg Fairweather Lodge meets weekly on Saturday mornings at a coffee shop. Weekly meetings is one of the fidelity standards for having a certified program.

Aside from reviewing our weeks, setting and monitoring goals, and planning the next week, we are working on having a meal together. From recipe to shopping, budgeting, serving … we’re having a meal together. Exciting stuff.