House Meetings: Developing Resident Leadership

Developing resident leadership is a critical part of the NARR standards.

House meetings can be used as a strategy to help residents develop leadership skills. Each meeting will need a leader to take attendance, ensure that notes are taken and take charge of any follow-up tasks.

A recovery housing program can choose to have residents rotate who is the leader for the meeting. This way everyone gets an opportunity to run the meeting and develop basic leadership and organizational skills.

Additionally, house meetings are where specific tasks can be assigned. Residents can come up with ideas and plans and then be responsible for executing them. Residents can volunteer to take on these roles as well, expanding their ability to manage projects and work with others.