Move to New Clubhouse
Submitted by Kyle K. on 9/5/17
After more than a decade at 70th & Maple Street, a consensus was reached that we should consider moving. Our Maple Street clubhouse had the advantages of very low rent and lots of space, but the building was falling deeper into decay and the owners mostly ignored our requests to fix things. Bathrooms were especially bad - fixtures didn't work properly and were seldom cleaned. Electrical problems and ceilings damaged by leaks went unrepaired for months on end. Parking, noise, and dim lighting (especially at night) were also problems. So we started looking for a new place to meet.
We considered quite a number of alternatives, most of which were either too small or too expensive, or otherwise unsuitable. We finally found a 3-room suite in the lower level of the Westgate Professional building, and were able to negotiate a rental rate similar to what we had been paying. It's quite a bit smaller than the Maple Street clubhouse, but is in most respects much nicer.
Such a move is always a risky proposition. What if people have trouble finding it? What if we run into conflicts with neighbors or landlords? What if attendance drops and we have trouble paying the rent? What if attendance grows and we don't have enough space? At a series of intergroup meetings we arrived at a group conscience and decided to accept the offer. We moved out of the old space, into the new, on Saturday morning Sept 2nd, immediately after the 9am meeting. The new space was officially opened by the Sunday afternoon women's meeting on Sept 3rd.
We're hopeful this will turn out to be a good decision. For directions to the new meeting space click here. For our meeting schedule (including meetings held at other locations) click here.
Omaha's 'S' Fellowship Clubhouse
Submitted by Bob F. on Mon, 11/19/2007
Omaha has what we believe to be the oldest 'S' fellowship clubhouse in the world. We opened our first SLAA clubhouse in 1987 in a very small space next to a barbershop and beneath a takeout barbecue restaurant.
Prior to that we met in two Presbyterian churches. A scandal involving a Presbyterian minister in central Nebraska prompted the churches to request that we find other locations for our meetings. We developed a resentment and decided that we should take matters into our own hands and began a search for retail or office space so we wouldn't be at the mercy of others. Holding our meetings outdoors in a central Omaha park it only took a couple of weeks to find a space and we had our first clubhouse.
Initially we went through the process of creating a 501(c)(3) corporation. We named the corporation SLAA of Omaha. It didn't take long before we realize that the name was a violation of Tradition Six, "An S.L.A.A. group or S.L.A.A. as a whole ought never to endorse, finance, or lend the S. L. A. A. name to any related facility or outside enterprise, lest problems of money, property, or prestige divert us from our primary purpose." We spent way too much time trying to have our Intergroup control the club.
Realizing our mistake we ditched the S.L.A.A. of Omaha corporation, instead forming a separate entity called the Dodge Street Club when we had to move to a larger facility on Dodge Street to accommodate the larger number of addicts attending our meetings. We realized that we must be doing something right.
We are now in our third location. This move was necessary when the office building we were renting space in was sold and torn down to make way for an Office Max.
Early on in Omaha, you had to be ‘screened’ before being allowed to know where and when our meetings were held. Today we are listed in the phone book, our answering machine message lists all of the meetings we have as well as the address, and now this website allows us another opportunity to let sex and love addicts who still suffer find their way (your way) into our meetings and our fellowship.
As of the date of this writing we have the meetings shown on the Meeting List link as well as some meetings of other 'S' fellowships. Please send an email to S[email protected] if you know of other ‘S’ fellowship clubhouses.
How SLAA began in Omaha
Submitted by Bob F. on Wed, 09/16/2009
This is the story as it was told to me and as I remember it. This caveat means this information is highly suspect.
Two people, a man and a woman, brought SAA from Sioux Falls, SD to Omaha sometime in 1985. This husband and wife were in the process of a divorce and so a men's group and a women's group were the first meetings. One was held in the lower level of the "Old Market", and the other was held at Lowe Avenue Presbyterian Church.
By 1986, when I attended my first meeting, there was a men's group on Tuesdays and Friday nights, a women's meeting on Thursday night, and a coed book study on Monday night. A Wednesday night meeting was added in early 1987 and originally was for co-addicts (spouses and significant others of sex addicts). But it wasn't long before the addicts took it over and it became the first speaker meeting in Omaha.
In early 1987 these four meetings were trying to decide whether to join Sexaholics Anonymous, Sex Addicts Anonymous or Sex and Love Addicts Anonymous. After many group conscience meetings and very exuberant and boisterous discussions, it was decided by a majority of members to join SLAA because they had a book and pamphlets. Obviously this choice was not made by philosophical differences and differing ideology and dogma. SLAA had a book and pamphlets. That was good enough for me and a majority of the members attending meetings at that time.
In late Spring 1987 we were meeting in Lowe Avenue Presbyterian Church and Clifton Hills Presbyterian Church. Pastor Jack, who was a good friend to the "S" fellowships asked us to find other locations due to grumblings in the Presbytery. Please read Omaha's 'S' Fellowship Clubhouse above for the "Rest of the Story."
Submitted by Kyle K. on 9/5/17
After more than a decade at 70th & Maple Street, a consensus was reached that we should consider moving. Our Maple Street clubhouse had the advantages of very low rent and lots of space, but the building was falling deeper into decay and the owners mostly ignored our requests to fix things. Bathrooms were especially bad - fixtures didn't work properly and were seldom cleaned. Electrical problems and ceilings damaged by leaks went unrepaired for months on end. Parking, noise, and dim lighting (especially at night) were also problems. So we started looking for a new place to meet.
We considered quite a number of alternatives, most of which were either too small or too expensive, or otherwise unsuitable. We finally found a 3-room suite in the lower level of the Westgate Professional building, and were able to negotiate a rental rate similar to what we had been paying. It's quite a bit smaller than the Maple Street clubhouse, but is in most respects much nicer.
Such a move is always a risky proposition. What if people have trouble finding it? What if we run into conflicts with neighbors or landlords? What if attendance drops and we have trouble paying the rent? What if attendance grows and we don't have enough space? At a series of intergroup meetings we arrived at a group conscience and decided to accept the offer. We moved out of the old space, into the new, on Saturday morning Sept 2nd, immediately after the 9am meeting. The new space was officially opened by the Sunday afternoon women's meeting on Sept 3rd.
We're hopeful this will turn out to be a good decision. For directions to the new meeting space click here. For our meeting schedule (including meetings held at other locations) click here.
Omaha's 'S' Fellowship Clubhouse
Submitted by Bob F. on Mon, 11/19/2007
Omaha has what we believe to be the oldest 'S' fellowship clubhouse in the world. We opened our first SLAA clubhouse in 1987 in a very small space next to a barbershop and beneath a takeout barbecue restaurant.
Prior to that we met in two Presbyterian churches. A scandal involving a Presbyterian minister in central Nebraska prompted the churches to request that we find other locations for our meetings. We developed a resentment and decided that we should take matters into our own hands and began a search for retail or office space so we wouldn't be at the mercy of others. Holding our meetings outdoors in a central Omaha park it only took a couple of weeks to find a space and we had our first clubhouse.
Initially we went through the process of creating a 501(c)(3) corporation. We named the corporation SLAA of Omaha. It didn't take long before we realize that the name was a violation of Tradition Six, "An S.L.A.A. group or S.L.A.A. as a whole ought never to endorse, finance, or lend the S. L. A. A. name to any related facility or outside enterprise, lest problems of money, property, or prestige divert us from our primary purpose." We spent way too much time trying to have our Intergroup control the club.
Realizing our mistake we ditched the S.L.A.A. of Omaha corporation, instead forming a separate entity called the Dodge Street Club when we had to move to a larger facility on Dodge Street to accommodate the larger number of addicts attending our meetings. We realized that we must be doing something right.
We are now in our third location. This move was necessary when the office building we were renting space in was sold and torn down to make way for an Office Max.
Early on in Omaha, you had to be ‘screened’ before being allowed to know where and when our meetings were held. Today we are listed in the phone book, our answering machine message lists all of the meetings we have as well as the address, and now this website allows us another opportunity to let sex and love addicts who still suffer find their way (your way) into our meetings and our fellowship.
As of the date of this writing we have the meetings shown on the Meeting List link as well as some meetings of other 'S' fellowships. Please send an email to S[email protected] if you know of other ‘S’ fellowship clubhouses.
How SLAA began in Omaha
Submitted by Bob F. on Wed, 09/16/2009
This is the story as it was told to me and as I remember it. This caveat means this information is highly suspect.
Two people, a man and a woman, brought SAA from Sioux Falls, SD to Omaha sometime in 1985. This husband and wife were in the process of a divorce and so a men's group and a women's group were the first meetings. One was held in the lower level of the "Old Market", and the other was held at Lowe Avenue Presbyterian Church.
By 1986, when I attended my first meeting, there was a men's group on Tuesdays and Friday nights, a women's meeting on Thursday night, and a coed book study on Monday night. A Wednesday night meeting was added in early 1987 and originally was for co-addicts (spouses and significant others of sex addicts). But it wasn't long before the addicts took it over and it became the first speaker meeting in Omaha.
In early 1987 these four meetings were trying to decide whether to join Sexaholics Anonymous, Sex Addicts Anonymous or Sex and Love Addicts Anonymous. After many group conscience meetings and very exuberant and boisterous discussions, it was decided by a majority of members to join SLAA because they had a book and pamphlets. Obviously this choice was not made by philosophical differences and differing ideology and dogma. SLAA had a book and pamphlets. That was good enough for me and a majority of the members attending meetings at that time.
In late Spring 1987 we were meeting in Lowe Avenue Presbyterian Church and Clifton Hills Presbyterian Church. Pastor Jack, who was a good friend to the "S" fellowships asked us to find other locations due to grumblings in the Presbytery. Please read Omaha's 'S' Fellowship Clubhouse above for the "Rest of the Story."
