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Participant Wellness Team Meeting

Date: February 16, 2026
Attendees: Anna T., Daniel T., Chris T.O., Fran A., Tilke W., Yllza B., D MAC, Patrick L.

Summary

The team discussed structural concerns and leadership transitions, with Daniel T. stepping down as Participant Wellness Meta Lead and Anna T. expressing willingness to take on the role. Key topics included Ohana House operations and potential child protection requirements, the automated low-income ticket system, Safer Space cabin protocols, and the possibility of integrating the vacant Harm Reduction lead role into the Inclusion team.

Discussion

Leadership Transition

Daniel T. is stepping down as Participant Wellness Meta Lead due to capacity constraints. Anna T. is willing to take on the Meta Lead role with support; Daniel T. noted Anna T. is already outperforming him in coordination. The association board is mapping lead-level roles and will make gaps visible on the new website.

Team Introductions and Roles

  • Anna T. — Consent Lead; wants more connection among the team, previously felt like an “isolated cog”
  • Chris T.O. — Board member of new association; Malfare Lead (needs help with pre-event planning)
  • Fran A. — Low-Income Ticket Lead
  • Tilke W. — Inclusion Lead; also camp lead of HR Out
  • Yllza B. — Ohana House Lead (3 years)
  • D MAC — Welfare Co-Lead and Welfare Training Lead
  • Patrick L. — Has worked Malfare shift lead shifts; interested in helping with Malfare leadership

Welfare Team Structure

D MAC proposed three Welfare leads as ideal for “rotational sanity” and managing full shifts. Two leads proved too much for one person in past experience. Strong collaboration with Malfare last year was noted.

Malfare Operations

Chris T.O. plans to run Malfare using established best practices, building out a leadership council. Priority: ensuring enough experienced personnel for “overwatch” roles (highest on-site escalation point). Most immediate need: pre-event administrative support, volunteer communications, shift planning, and training.

Ohana House

Ohana House is a sober, safe, children-friendly decompression space (not a daycare), operating 9:00–17:00 with four volunteers. It offers children’s books, toys, and crafting materials. Volunteer no-shows have been an issue.

Anna T. raised concern about potential child protection certificate requirements, which could complicate volunteer recruitment. Yllza B. will draft a description of the space for legal review.

Ohana House and Welfare Collaboration

D MAC proposed using Ohana House as overflow/triage space for Welfare after 17:00. Yllza B. was happy to offer the space after hours. A suggested restructuring would remove the fence between Ohana House and Welfare and change door access for Welfare supervision.

Safer Space Cabin

Anna T. noted a potential conflict of interest between running the space and reading post-event reports. The cabin was previously operated with dedicated drop-in hours; support outside those times went via Malfare or Welfare.

Agreed protocol: Consent “owns” the cabin but makes it available for Malfare/Welfare triage needs, yielding if Consent requires it for a support case. Patrick L. suggested Welfare route requests through Malfare for a single point of entry and accountability.

Low-Income Ticket System

The previous approach involved long personal emails and was labour-intensive with arbitrary decisions. The current system uses a Google form with weighted questions and automated scoring, reducing processing from 3–4 weeks to 30 minutes.

Annual decisions needed: total number of tickets, batch timing, and question weighting. Two batches are currently used to prevent delays in code-to-ticket exchange. GDPR concern: sensitive personal information requires minimal people involved.

Exception handling: leads sometimes request tickets for team members. Fran A. prefers either a set allocation per lead or extra points in the scoring system to maintain objectivity. Patrick L. stressed the need for some flexibility for crucial volunteers.

Harm Reduction Lead

The role has been vacant for approximately 2 years. Tilke W. suggested integrating it into the Inclusion team. Historically the role focused on substances (AA/NA meetings). Tilke W. has broadened the scope to include noise health and safety; elements are already distributed across departments.

Organisational Structure

Anna T. expressed preference for exploring horizontal structures over strict hierarchy, while acknowledging the Meta Lead role may be necessary for oversight and noticing vacant roles. Tilke W. agreed that pyramid structure can be useful for communication as the association gets established.

Budget

Anna T. offered to consolidate budget needs for Participant Wellness teams before liaising with the treasurer. Tilke W. noted Inclusion’s budget was insufficient last year and suggested tiered budgeting (essentials vs. improvements). There was discussion of high-income tickets (offered previously), with current financial difficulties around setting up the association’s finances.