Frequently Asked Questions

About Registering, Travel, Location, Refund Policy, etc.

See also:

§  FAQs About Sponsorships and Payment Plans

§  Liability Release (to be signed upon your arrival on site)

§  Confidentiality Agreement (to be signed upon your arrival on site)

§  Further Agreements (to be signed upon your arrival on site)

§  Article to be read in advance: “Four Principles of Change”

Q. How do I sign up?

A.  Please register online by making an initial deposit of at least US$250 and filling out a short online registration and payment questionnaire.  After you submit this, you will receive an automated email message confirming its receipt 

Regular Online Registration

To register, go to http://peoplecanchange.com/Payments.htm and click on the weekend you want to sign up for.  This will take you to a secure site for registration and payment of your deposit using a Visa or MasterCard debit or credit card.

Applying for Financial Assistance

If you need to apply for financial assistance – either a partial sponsorship (minimum of US$100, maximum of US$400) or a pre-approved payment plan – follow the same instructions as above but click on the link for financial assistance for the particular JiM weekend for which you wish to register. 

For more information, see FAQs About Sponsorships and Payment Plans

Q. Can I pay by mail instead?

A. We prefer that you pay online, but yes, you can also pay by regular mail.  Please note that your registration is not complete until we have received your physical check of money order.

     To pay by mail, first go to http://peoplecanchange.com/Payments.htm and click on the weekend you want to sign up for.  PRINT OUT the questionnaire and fill it out by hand.  Include this completed questionnaire with your check or money order. This is VERY IMPORTANT.

     Mail your check or money order, along with the completed questionnaire, to:

People Can Change

P.O. Box 412

Ruckersville, VA  22968

USA 

Q. After paying the initial US$250 deposit, how do I pay the rest of the fee, and when is due?

A. The deadline for full payment of the US$650 fee (or the reduced amount, if you have been pre-approved for financial assistance) is 7 days before the start of the Journey Into Manhood weekend for which you have registered.

We must have your full payment 7 days in advance.  No money will be accepted “at the door” (except for post-dated checks from men who have been pre-approved for a payment plan). 

You can pay the rest of the balance due the same way you paid the initial deposit.  Go to http://peoplecanchange.com/Payments.htm and click on the weekend you have previously signed up for. Follow the same steps as before, paying the remaining balance due this time.  

(It’s okay to pay in several installments, as long as we have your full payment by 7 days before the weekend that you’ll be attending. 

Q. What does the US$650 registration fee cover?

A. It covers:

§  the full program (total of about 25 hours of facilitated “work” over parts of 3 days),

§  use of the rented camp or retreat center for all our activities

§  2 nights stay at the camp or retreat center, and

§  six meals (dinner Friday through lunch Sunday).  

It does not include transportation to or from the camp or retreat center.

Q. What is your refund policy?

A. Registration fees are fully refundable to anyone who cancels more than 15 days before the Journey Into Manhood weekend.

Within 15 days of the Journey Into Manhood weekend, the minimum deposit of $250 is NOT refundable, although it may be “rolled over” and applied to registration for a future event. (Any amount pre-paid ABOVE the minimum deposit of US$250 is fully refundable.)

No other refunds apply, except on an exception basis approved by the director, Rich Wyler (rich@peoplecanchange.com).  

Q. What if the weekend I want to attend is already full?  Is there a waiting list?

A. We cap attendance at 32 so that participants get the individual time and attention that they need during the event.

Once 32 men are registered for a particular “JiM” weekend, we try to indicate “Weekend Full” on our Web site (although we can’t always have up-to-the-minute information on the Web site). 

If the weekend you want to attend is full, we will notify you promptly by email and ask you if you prefer to:

(1) be placed on the waiting list in case someone cancels and space becomes available,
(2) transfer your deposit to another weekend that still has openings, or
(3) receive a prompt and full refund.

Q. When will I get detailed information on where the program will be held, travel instructions, and other details? 

A.  After you have registered, and about 8 weeks before the Journey Into Manhood event you’ve registered for, you will receive, by email, detailed information about the specific location of the event, making travel arrangements, what to bring, etc.

If you have questions in the meantime, or if you do not receive this information by 8 weeks in advance, please email us at lynn@peoplecanchange.com, or call 1-434-985-8551.

Q. Where exactly will the program be held?

A.  Each Journey Into Manhood event is held at a rented camp, conference center or retreat center usually within a 1 to 2 hour drive or train ride from a major airport.  This type of facility gives us sufficient privacy and provides a “retreat” environment set apart from normal day-to-day life.

Accommodations are not luxurious. Rooms are in a dorm setting typically with bunk beds, and often times you will need to bring your own sleeping bag or other bedding.  There are no private or two-person rooms.

After you have paid your US$250 deposit, and about 8 weeks before the event for which you have registered, you will receive, by email, a letter with detailed information that will include the exact location of the program and directions on how to get there.  We do not give out that specific information on the location to anyone who has not paid the full deposit.

Q. What time does it start?  What time does it end?

A. Normally, we start at 4 pm on Friday. 

Please do not arrive on site BEFORE 3:30 pm.  Please do not arrive on site AFTER 4 pm.

We normally end between 4:30 and 5 pm on Sunday.

Please make your travel arrangements to accommodate this schedule.  If you are flying, please be sure to allow enough travel time between the airport and the “JiM” location.

If the letter you receive from us after you register gives a different start or end time from what is written here, please defer to that letter.

Q. Do you provide transportation assistance?

A. We help to coordinate carpools among participants who may be flying in to the same airport or driving from the same direction, but ultimately you are responsible to get yourself to the camp/retreat center and back.

After you register, and about 8 weeks before the JiM weekend that you’ve signed up for, you’ll receive, along with the instruction letter, a link to an online travel questionnaire.  If you are looking to ride share to the site, or if you live locally and are willing to offer anyone a ride from the airport, we’ll ask you to tell us that on the questionnaire.  Our volunteer staff will help arrange carpools from there.  Some participants may choose to rent a car together and split the cost of the rental.

Q. Which airport should I fly into?

A. That information will be in the detailed instruction letter that you will receive by email after you register and about 8 weeks before the JiM weekend that you’ve signed up for.  If you need an answer before you receive the letter, write to our administrator, Lynn, at lynn@peoplecanchange.com or call us at 1-434-985-8551

Q. Is there anything else I need to do to prepare?

A. Yes. After you register, and about 8 weeks before the JiM weekend you will be attending, we will send you, by email, along with the instruction letter:

1)     a link to an online travel questionnaire, mentioned above.

2)     a link to an online health / experience questionnaire.  This includes questions on any special dietary needs.

3)     a link to an online questionnaire about your current emotional state.

It is very important that you fill out these questionnaires, answering as honestly as possible, and submit them to us NO LATER THAN 2 WEEKS BEFORE the JiM weekend you will be attending.

In addition, we will also send you in advance

4)     a copy of the confidentiality agreement and liability release for you to read in advance. You’ll need to sign this when you arrive on site.  Click here to read this agreement and release now

5)     a copy of an article, “Four Principles of Change,” that we ask you to read before you come.  Click here to read this article now.

Q. What about confidentiality?

A.   Confidentiality is extremely important to create a safe place to do deep emotional healing work.  All participants must sign a strict confidentiality agreement.  Click here to read this agreement and release now

This commitment to confidentiality is also reiterated verbally, in person, at the start and again at the end of the weekend.

Q. What will I need to bring with me?

A. Please bring the following:

 1.  Legal identification, such as a driver’s license or passport.  This is to help  ensure that all participants are at least 18 years old and that no one is attending under false pretenses or signing release forms under a false identity.

2.     A sleeping bag and/or blankets and a pillow. (This is not always required. Some sites provide bedding, but not usually.)

  3.    Your personal effects and appropriate indoor/outdoor clothing.  Rain gear is strongly recommended.

4.     Necessary prescribed or over-the-counter medications.  If you have a history of asthma, please be sure to bring an inhaler.

5.     A towel, soap, bug repellant, and any other personal care items you may require.

6.     A refillable water bottle with your name on it.

7.     Earplugs (highly recommended, in case of snoring)

8.     A flashlight is recommended but not required. 

What NOT to Bring:

1. Please leave all electronic devices at home or in your car when you arrive, including watches, mobile phones and wireless handheld devices.  We ask you not to use them at all during the program.  (Exception: electronic devices required for your health, such as a CPAP nighttime breathing machine.)

2. Usually, the sites do not allow food in the residential rooms.  If you bring food, it normally needs to be kept in the kitchen.  If you bring food of your own (such as kosher food), it must be kept in the site’s kitchen.

3. No alcoholic beverages, street drugs or illicit mood-altering substances of any kind.

4. Anything that may distract you or others from our healing purpose.

Q. Can I call home or work during the weekend?

A.   We ask you to agree not to make or receive phone calls during the weekend.  This is to help everyone stay in the experience and focus on their personal work in the present, rather than to be distracted by what might be going on at home or work.

Besides, the sites we rent typically do not have reliable wireless service, and you cannot depend on getting a signal.

Please tell family members or anyone else who may expect to reach you by phone during the weekend that you will NOT have access to a phone from 4 p.m. Friday through 5 p.m. Sunday, local time.

You may wish to tell family members that you can call them when you arrive to let them know you have arrived safely, but that will not have access to your phone after that until 5 p.m. Sunday.

Before the weekend, we will provide you with an emergency number at that site that you can give to family members who may need to contact you in case of emergency only.

Exceptions to this telephone policy can be discussed with the weekend leader once you arrive. 

Q. What if I don’t want to participate in one of the processes?

A.   We ask you to participate in every process, but no one will force you to do anything against your will.  Anyone may choose to “pass” and not participate in a particular process.  The staff may challenge you to consider the reasons behind your choice, but they will never force you or manipulate you into participating.

Q. What if I want to leave early, or want to leave for part of the time?

A.   Participants are asked to stay on site for the full program, from arrival on Friday afternoon to departure on Sunday late afternoon.  No one is to leave the site temporarily and return back to the program.

However, anyone is allowed to leave the program altogether, at any time, for any reason. Certainly, no one is required to stay who does not wish to continue with the program.

Q. What if I have some physical limitations?

A.   Journey Into Manhood is not generally a very physically rigorous weekend for most participants.  Most of our “work” is indoors.  We have always been able to accommodate the physical limitations of participants, whether due to age, weight, physical fitness or some type of disability.  Of course, each man is responsible to take care of himself physically and to communicate his physical limitations to the staff, as necessary.

Q. What if I have special dietary needs, or if only eat kosher food?

A.   One of the questionnaires we send you in advance asks about any special dietary requirements.  Our cooks are typically able to accommodate most common dietary restrictions.  In unusual cases, you may need to bring and prepare your own food and keep it in the kitchen.

If you eat kosher food only, you will usually need to bring and prepare your own kosher food and keep it in the kitchen.  However, if we have 4 or men registered for the same event who eat kosher food only, and we know that far enough in advance, we sometimes are able to arrange separate kosher food preparation by an experienced, qualified staff volunteer.   

Q. Will my religious values be respected? Will my religious practices be accommodated?

A.  Journey Into Manhood is not a religious retreat, but we do strive to create a spiritual framework for deep personal growth work where the participant’s individual religious beliefs (or non-belief) are welcomed and may be incorporated into the individual work they do.

We do teach the spiritual principal of surrender to a Higher Power, as part of a broader program of change.  But we never intentionally challenge anyone’s religious beliefs, or lack of belief, their morals or values.  We will do our best to work within a participant’s existing framework of spiritual beliefs and values. 

We also make sincere efforts to accommodate requirements of Jewish Sabbath observance.  We usually have at least one conservative or orthodox Jew on staff, and the senior non-Jewish staff are also quite familiar with Jewish Sabbath requirements. 

Q. What is the minimum age to attend? 

A. You must be at least 18 years old on the day you arrive.  Occasionally, we will accept 17 year olds if they are clearly self-motivated and if they are referred by someone who is very familiar with the Journey Into Manhood program.  To discuss possible exceptions, write to the director, Rich Wyler, at rich@peoplecanchange.com or call 1-434-985-8551. 

Q. What if I have another question that wasn’t addressed here?

A. Contact the People Can Change administrator, Lynn, at lynn@peoplecanchange.com or 1-434-985-8551.