Thanks Ainsley !   Our Community Bikes has exactly the same policy in place.

  We've been happy with it. And we had a couple of months of an expirement with our space, where we had no alcohol at all. Ever. People finished repairs diligently so they could go and have an after work beer somewhere.

   The check in to crack a beer in the space comes from working with people on the recovery train. Though they are no longer with the organization, but we still keep this in practice.

  Alcohol has negatively influenced decision making and collective processes enough that we are happier without it!

 Jesse Cooper




On Thu, Jul 31, 2014 at 3:58 AM, Ainsley Naylor <needleandthread@gmail.com> wrote:
A few years ago we had a long, tormented - and never resolved - discussion to create a policy re: alcohol in our space. There were some collective members who felt that being able to drink at Bike Pirates was important for a few reasons, which I will not try to paraphrase here.
Essentially what we ended up being able to agree on is that alcohol and other substances are not welcome or safe during any of our operating hours OR times when we are working on bikes - ie. our volunteer-only Bike Build Nights. We used to have beer at Bike Builds regularly, but many of us now feel that does not create a safe space for other volunteers or for mechanical work! So, any time bikes are being worked on - no drinking.

We haven't allowed alcohol at our meetings for quite some time. Our collective meetings are pretty long and intense, and not really social, as there is a lot to discuss since we are consensus-based. Often folks will go out for a beer after the meeting to decompress and catch up. It may happen that there may be a drink or two at after-hours committee meetings when only a few people are around, and are pretty low-key, and we also have community events a few times a month and a volunteer Board Game Night which usually includes alcohol.

What we have agreed on is that any time someone wishes to drink in the space when it might not be expected - i.e. not during a community event which has advertised having alcohol - that folks check-in and ensure that no one will be triggered. This is a fair and compassionate expectation, though I don't think it is always happening.

ainsley (Bike Pirates Toronto)


On Thu, Jul 31, 2014 at 3:17 AM, DancesWithCars <danceswithcars@gmail.com> wrote:

I wish most places I've encountered were sober, clean and safe [ emotional/ spiritual/... ]  spaces, but sadly they are not...

Age range seems to vary, predominantly twentysomething places seem to favor etoh ( keggers, etc) and go out afterwards many times, including events at bars, which have served [ me ] food.

I've been in pseudo"community" where No etoh or expelled quickly policy went into effect and stayed to the end of term instead of leaving early.

My involvement in bike coops, etc has been negatively affected by etoh and other abuse issues...

Age distribution ( client, volunteer, mgmt and community )  and of manglement seem to correlate, IMHO.

Sore subject, actually.

~~~~~~~~~~~
typing impaired by device, so phlat.
NB: BigBro monitors all, dude[tte]....
BackusNaurForm forgotten. 
Lied to re: Del msgs.  MailHoardersAnon*

On Jul 30, 2014 11:02 PM, "Ryan Kragerud" <rjkragerud@gmail.com> wrote:
Bicycle Longmont allows beer during board meetings. I personally feel beer decreases the productivity of our meetings beyond measure. Previously to having our own space for meetings we met at a library so no alcohol. We'd go out for beers afterward. That scenario built a more cohesive board. I discourage alcohol during board meetings where you actually need everyone to be focused. 

Others on our board would probably disagree with me. But this is my opinion.

On Wednesday, July 30, 2014, Affordable Bikes Re-Cyclery <affordablebikesrecyclery@gmail.com> wrote:
Affordable Bikes is also a sober space, with a lot of staff and customers in recovery gravitating to our shop. Of course our structure as a retail shop (albeit one with multiple work stands, work credits, apprentices, and other features of community bike shops) also lends itself to a sober environment.


On Wed, Jul 30, 2014 at 8:28 PM, sheldon mains <sheldon@spokesconnect.org> wrote:
SPOKES is a sober space. No alcohol except if we are having a special event (e.g. a fundraiser).  We have some clients who are recovering from addictions. 

sheldon

..............
Sheldon Mains
SPOKES Bike Walk Connect
Minneapolis, MN 612/618-7149
Three ways to donate to SPOKES:
1. Volunteer.  2. Donate repairable used bikes. 3. Financial donations always welcome. Check www.SpokesConnect.org for details.


On Wed, Jul 30, 2014 at 6:33 PM, mpattisall <mike.pattisall@velocitycoop.org> wrote:
Velocity has a volunteers only night when alcohol ( beer) is allowed.  We also have an " Earn of Bike "  and other kid oriented programs in the shop the following day so all  evidence ( cans, bottles ) must be removed at the end of the volunteer night.  Anytime we are open to the public we keep alcohol on the down low.


On Wed, Jul 30, 2014 at 6:53 PM, Vincenzo loco <wormsign@gmail.com> wrote:
We only ban alcohol when the shop is open to the public but we also don't drink alcohol at the meetings. When it happens it is usually at social functions or 'after hours'


On Wed, Jul 30, 2014 at 3:44 PM, Reno Bikes <renobikeproject@gmail.com> wrote:
We allow alcohol, but only at breakfast meetings. 


On Wed, Jul 30, 2014 at 2:26 PM, momoko saunders <analyst@bikefarm.org> wrote:
Hey all, 

We at Bike Farm recently had a proposal to ban alcohol at our general meetings. We already have a strict policy against alcohol during open shop hours.

I'd love to know if other shops have policy around alcohol during meetings or in the shop off hours. Do you have concrete examples of how this effects the shop and it's patrons/volunteers? 

For those who do not have alcohol, do you notice an difference in time spent hanging out with other collective members, did it change the social dynamic? How does it affect your volunteer pool?

For those who have alcohol, do you discuss it often? Do you think it adds or deters from your collective? What is the role of alcohol?


The arguments in my mind seem to revolve around safer spaces and regulation. I believe in having as little regulation as possible, but I also respect the need for safer spaces. I wonder if there's a way to not introduce policy while still making an inviting space for all.


Your thoughts and experiences would be appreciated!
-momoko


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