i have been in on a couple of attempts to develop something like that, mimi, and i'll share what i know. first, don't be too quick to meet in people's homes... it can have disastrous consequences for a new group. some banks, and or libraries have conference rooms that they let groups use, and they are air conditioned. alas, they usually don't allow for coffee or sodas (which is almost mandatory). we had good luck with the Methodist Church, which hosts many of it's own social activities, and even had a little kitchen. all we had to do was promise to clean up after ourselves.

if you take lead in starting the group, be careful that you don't get cast as THE leader. make sure the members rotate or share in refreshments, or topics, or even hosting. some of the disabled housing has "recreational rooms" which make for good meeting places, too. the ones i know about require a resident to be present for their use, tho.

another good idea is setting some topic for each meeting. it can be as simple as: getting to know each other. or more indepth, some news item or community event. wandering off topic is quite likely, but it's good to have a fall back discussion point.

finally, i learned too late that most people want emotional support more than anything else, but often we who are needing that have little to give. it can be very helpful to find a guidebook on group communications to use as a framework for how the group addresses strong emotions and potential conflicts.

once you have a good meeting place so you can recruit, and topics of interest to focus on, a good reference for skills, you should be ready to launch.

Best Wishes~!
Gus