Jam Support Handbook

Denver Contact Jam, a program of Wiggelruhm. Version 1.0, adopted August 2026.

This is the one document that explains how DCJ runs. If you’re on Jam Support, everything you need is either in here or linked from here.

You are not expected to memorize this. The point of writing it down is so you don’t have to hold it in your head. The posters in the space carry the parts you might need in a hurry.

Our Values

Curiosity: Playfulness, wonder, and the creative unknown move us. We show up open to new perspectives, ready to stretch our imagination and let inspiration be our guide.

Consent: We build trust in our shared experience by exercising our agency with consistency and care. We listen, stay grounded, and hold both ourselves and each other accountable with kindness.

Connection: We strive to give more than we take through collaboration, solidarity, and service. We tend to people, places, and things, so we leave them better than we found them.

Collective: We continuously practice becoming together. Through education, adaptability, and presence, we practice resilience so we can expand toward liberation and walk each other home.

DCJ is a program of Wiggelruhm, and Wiggelruhm’s values remain the ground beneath ours.

1. What Jam Support Is, and What It Isn’t

Jam Support holds the container of the jam. We facilitate opening circles, welcome people, model the Community Agreements, stay available during the jam, and respond when something goes wrong.

What we promise:

To be present and reachable during the jam
To listen without judgment when someone brings us something
To be honest about what happens with what they tell us
To act when someone’s safety is at stake
To connect people with real support when they need more than we can give

What we don’t promise:

Counseling, therapy, or ongoing emotional support
Investigation or fact-finding
Mediation between parties
Being on call outside of jams

This list is short on purpose. A promise we can’t keep is worse than no promise, and the biggest thing that drives people off this role is a job description that keeps growing. If something isn’t on the first list, it isn’t your job.

What we hold ourselves to

Jam Support follows the Community Agreements like everyone else. Because we hold more power in the space, we also agree to these:

Model the agreements, don’t just enforce them. People read what you do, not what you say in circle.
Use your power in the space with care. Being Jam Support gives you social weight, with newcomers especially. Notice it. Be slower to initiate, quicker to check in.
Ask for consent out loud, visibly. You are teaching the room how to do it every time you dance.
Respond when you see something out of alignment, even when it’s awkward and even when it’s someone you like. Compassionately, and in a timely way.
Be receivable. Feedback about you is not an attack. If someone tells you that you got it wrong, your first job is to hear it.
Recuse yourself when you’re implicated. Named in a report, or close enough to the situation that your judgment isn’t clean, step out of the conversation. See the Protocol.
Don’t pursue romance or intimacy with newcomers. The power gap is real even when the attraction is mutual.
Know where your limits are and say so before you exceed them.

Why we shrank the role

DCJ went from 14 Jam Support members to 5. People didn’t leave because they stopped loving the jam. They left because the work grew past what a volunteer could carry and stopped being fun.

Three things were doing most of that damage: the weight of harm response, the volume of meetings and admin, and having no way to be at the jam without being on. This handbook is built to fix all three. If you notice the role creeping back toward what it was, say so at a meeting. That’s a real agenda item, not a complaint.

2. Being on Jam Support

Invitation

Jam Support is invite-only. There is no application and no vetting panel. Current members invite people they have danced with, whose judgment they trust, and who have been around long enough to know the room.

New members go through an orientation before their first jam in the role. The orientation covers this handbook, the Community Agreements, the Protocol for Responding to Harm, consent practices, and emergency procedures. New members shadow an experienced member for at least one jam before holding a role alone.

Active and Resting

You can step back and come back whenever you want. You do not have to explain why.

Our Community Agreements say you can leave any dance at any time without justification. The same is true of this role.

Active means you’re on the staffing rotation, you can be a Responder or Buddy, and your voice counts in Jam Support decisions.

Resting means none of the above. You’re still on Jam Support. You just aren’t working right now.

To go resting: tell the group. That’s the whole process. No notice period, no explanation.

To come back: tell the group. No re-application, no re-orientation unless you’ve been out long enough that things have changed and you want the refresher.

While resting, come dance. You are a member of this community who happens to also be on Jam Support. Come to the jam, dance the whole time, don’t hold anything. That’s the point.

A resting member may be asked for context on something they handled while active, such as a case they were Responder on. Answering is a courtesy, not an obligation.

What counts for decisions

Only active members count for consensus and quorum. This means resting members neither block decisions nor make quorum impossible to reach. If you’re resting and want to weigh in on something, say so and you’ll be heard. You just aren’t counted.

If you’re carrying an open case when you go resting

Hand it to another active member before you step back. If nobody can take it, bring it to the meeting. Don’t carry it while resting, and don’t leave it unheld.

3. The Jam Day

The jam is the fun part. It should stay that way.

Minimum staffing

Two active Jam Support members per jam: JS1 and JS2. See the roles below for who does what.

If only one member is available: the jam still runs. That member holds JS1, gives a shortened opening circle, and says plainly in circle that they are the only Jam Support today. Ask a trusted community member to be a second set of eyes. Post in the group chat that the jam ran short-staffed.

If no member is available: cancel or postpone. Post as early as you can. A cancelled jam is much better than an unheld one.

The two roles

Every jam runs on Jam Support 1 and Jam Support 2. JS1 carries the front of the room; JS2 carries the door. Both clean.

Before — JS1 opens the space · JS2 arrives to help set up · both clean the floors, together
Opening — JS1 facilitates the opening circle · JS2 runs the desk
Warm-up — JS1 leads the warm-up · JS2 runs the desk
Rest of jam — both dancing and available
Closing — JS1 facilitates the closing circle · JS2 available in the room
After — either JS1 or JS2 closes the space

JS1 is the heavier role. Rotate it. If the same person holds JS1 every week, that’s the pattern that emptied this committee before. Raise it at the meeting.

Once the desk shift ends, JS2 should go dance. Available doesn’t mean standing at the wall.

In the opening circle

You don’t need a script, and it shouldn’t sound like one. Hit these:

Names, and an invitation to share pronouns or access needs if people want to
One Community Agreement, your choice. Pick one that’s live for you
Who is Jam Support today, and that people can come to them for anything, including things that feel small
How to give feedback, including anonymously
Where the posters and documents are

Being “on”

You’re available, not omniscient. You are not responsible for noticing everything that happens in the room. Dance if you can. A Jam Support member who is dancing is more approachable than one standing at the wall.

4. Emergencies

Injury

Stop the dance around the injured person; ask the room to give space
Do not move someone with a head, neck, or back injury
First aid kit: the janitor’s closet. Ice packs: the kitchen freezer.
If it’s serious, call 911. Don’t deliberate. Call.
Stay with the person until they say they’re okay or help arrives
Write it down the same day: what happened, what you did, whether they went for care

Medical emergency

Emergency exit: the front door.

Nearest urgent care: AFC Urgent Care Denver Speer, 777 E Speer Blvd #100, Denver, CO 80203. (303) 733-4000.

Venue emergency contact: every Jam Support member has the owner’s number. It is not printed here.

Someone in acute distress

Get them somewhere quieter if they want to move. Offer water and a seat. Don’t touch without asking. You are not there to fix it. You’re there so they aren’t alone. If they need more than presence, the Resource List is in Section 8.

Someone who won’t leave

You have the authority to ask anyone to leave, alone, immediately. If they refuse: stay calm, don’t escalate, don’t touch them, get another member if one is present. We do not call police as part of a harm response. The one exception: if someone refuses to leave and presents an immediate physical danger to people in the space, you may call for emergency assistance.

Write it up within a week. See the Protocol, “Asking Someone to Leave.”

5. Receiving a Report

Someone pulls you aside. Here’s the shape of it.

Your job is to listen and record. Not to solve, judge, or investigate.

Step 1: Settle the space

“Do you want to talk here, or somewhere quieter?” Move out of the way of dancing. If they want more privacy, that’s a signal this may be bigger.

Are they hurt, physically or emotionally? It matters less what they answer than how they answer it. If physically hurt, get ice and see Section 4.

Step 2: Say what will happen with this

Before they share details:

“I’m glad you came to me. You have choices about how much detail and which names you share. So you know, I will share at least the gist of this with one other Jam Support member. We can talk about how much. If I hear something that poses a risk to you or the community, I may need to share more than you’d prefer. At the end we’ll talk about next steps.”

Ask whether they want to name the person. They don’t have to.

Step 3: Hear it

Listen. Ask open questions. Let them set the pace.
Validate and reflect: “It sounds like there’s a lot going through your mind. That’s a normal way to feel.”
Repeat back: “Let me make sure I’ve got this right… Am I missing anything?”
C.O.A.L.: curiosity, openness, acceptance, love.
Ask, don’t assume.

Don’t: make promises you can’t keep · brush off a concern because it seems small to you · hug or touch without asking · offer a diagnosis or advice you aren’t qualified to give.

Step 4: Next steps

“Is there anyone on Jam Support you do not want me sharing this with?”
“Do you want your name shared, or should this stay anonymous?”
“Is there anything specific you don’t want shared?”
“What would you like to see happen?” If they don’t know, that’s fine; tell them you’ll check back.
Offer the Resource List if they want support beyond you.
“What’s the best way to reach you?”
Give a timeline: “I’ll let you know where we are by the next jam.” Then actually do that.

If you’re over your head

Say so. It is not a failure.

“I want to make sure you’re well supported in this. Let me find someone who can be with you better than I can right now.”

Or bring in a second member on the spot, with their permission.

Afterward

Fill in the Conversation Record, same day if you can
Share the substance with a Buddy (see the Protocol)
Store it somewhere private and findable
If a next step has your name on it, put it where you’ll see it

The Conversation Record is our own form. A blank stack lives in the jam box and a fillable version is in Google Drive.

6. How We Decide Things

DCJ does not have Town Halls. We had one in August 2026 to launch this structure, and we don’t plan to hold them regularly. They take more organizing energy than we have, and our meetings are open anyway.

Three kinds of decisions

1. Inside a committee’s scope. The committee decides. No meeting needed, no approval. Post what you decided in the group chat so nobody’s surprised.

2. Across committees, or about the jam as a whole. Goes to the monthly meeting, or an async proposal.

3. Changing a foundational document. Community Agreements, Protocol for Responding to Harm, this handbook, or our values. Posted publicly at least four weeks before it’s decided, so the community can respond. Active Jam Support decides after the comment period.

The monthly meeting

Once a month.

That’s the only standing meeting. Committees do not each hold their own. They report into this one. If a committee wants to meet separately, great, but it isn’t required and it doesn’t produce another set of notes.

Two roles are required. Both rotate.

Facilitator: sets the agenda from what people submitted, runs the meeting, holds the time, makes sure decisions get named out loud before moving on
Notetaker: writes down decisions, owners, and dates. Not a transcript.

Four more are optional. Fill them only when a particular meeting needs them, which will not be most meetings:

Timekeeper: holds us to the time agreed for each agenda item and gives a warning when it’s running short. Useful when the agenda is full.
Stack Keeper: keeps a queue of who wants to speak, and may use discretion to prioritize someone who has spoken less. Useful when a topic is contentious or the room is bigger than usual.
Scribe: captures discussion points and proposal wording where everyone can see them. Useful when we’re drafting language together.
Meeting Coordinator: puts out the call for agenda items ahead of time and drafts the proposed agenda. When someone holds this, it comes off the Facilitator’s plate.

Default to two. Every role you add is another person doing a job instead of taking part, and at our size that cost is real. Add one when the meeting in front of you actually calls for it, not as a standing habit.

Agenda: anyone posts an item in the chat before the meeting. No item, no agenda slot. The facilitator isn’t responsible for generating the agenda out of nothing. If there’s nothing on the agenda, cancel the meeting. A cancelled meeting is a good sign.

Notes are decisions, owners, and dates. Three columns. If it isn’t a decision or a task with a name on it, it doesn’t go in the notes. Notes get posted in the chat within a couple of days.

Deciding by async

Most things don’t need a meeting.

Post the proposal in the group chat. If no active member objects within 72 hours, it passes.

If anyone objects, it goes to the next meeting. That’s the whole mechanism. It’s for the uncontested majority of decisions: buying supplies, scheduling a teacher, changing a posting time, approving a small expense.

Async is not for: anything about harm, participation boundaries, membership, or foundational documents. Those need people in a room.

How we reach agreement

We use consensus, but not the kind with percentages. At our size a percentage is theater. When a decision is called, each active member says one of:

Agreement: I support this and will help make it happen
Reservations: I have concerns but I’m willing to let it pass. Say the concern out loud; it goes in the notes.
Stand aside: I can’t support this, but I won’t stop the group. Let it happen without me.
Block: There’s a fundamental problem with the core of this. We need a different proposal.

Agreement, reservations, and stand-asides all let a decision pass. A block stops it.

A block is a serious act, and blocking means you’re taking on some responsibility for finding the alternative. If you block, the group reopens the discussion.

(From A Consensus Handbook, Seeds for Change.)

Making a proposal

Say the proposal. You decide the wording.
People ask clarifying questions and discuss.
Anyone can suggest an amendment. You choose whether to accept it. A rejected amendment can be raised as its own proposal.
When there’s at least one proposal on the table, anyone can move to close discussion.
Call for agreement.
Name who does what by when, before moving on.

That last step is the one that gets skipped, and skipping it is how things quietly don’t happen.

7. Committees

Committees exist so the work isn’t all in one place and so people who want to help have a door to walk through.

All committees are open to any community member, except Jam Support, which is invite-only.

You do not have to be on Jam Support to be on a committee. That’s the point: this is how the wider community participates in running the jam.

Committees decide within their scope without asking permission. Anything that crosses committees or touches a foundational document goes to the monthly meeting.

Jam Support (invite only)

Holds the jam. Staffs jam days, facilitates circles, receives feedback and reports, carries out the Protocol for Responding to Harm, runs orientation for new members, maintains the Resource List.

Engagement (open)

The Facebook group, including who can post and what the posting guidelines are. Instagram. The email list. The website. Announcements.

Enrichment (open)

Classes and how often they happen. Inviting community members to lead warm-ups and movement practices. Supporting visiting CI teachers. The occasional special guest teacher or workshop.

A note on capacity. Two committees is more than five people can staff, and we know it. These are named because they describe real work and because a named committee is something a community member can volunteer for. A committee with nobody in it is an open invitation, not a failure. If a committee stays empty, its work stays with Jam Support by default and we should say that out loud rather than let it fall through.

Starting a committee, or ending one

New committees are approved at the monthly meeting. A committee with no members for six months is retired at the monthly meeting, no ceremony required.

Money and Wiggelruhm

DCJ is a program of Wiggelruhm, and where the line falls on money, the venue relationship, and programming decisions is still being worked out. Once it’s settled it goes here. Open questions: who holds DCJ’s funds, whether DCJ has its own budget, who signs off on paying a teacher or musician, and what needs Wiggelruhm’s approval.

8. Resource List

Jam Support does not provide counseling or crisis support. This list is what we hand people instead. Keep a printed copy in the jam box and a link on the website.

Until the list exists: ask in the Jam Support chat. Someone in the group will help you find a referral. Don’t improvise support you aren’t trained to give just because you don’t have a handout.

The list, when built, should include:

Crisis lines: national and Colorado-specific, including text options
Low-cost or sliding-scale therapy in the Denver area
Therapists known to the community who work with somatic or trauma-related concerns, with a note about dual relationships if they also dance here
Survivor support and advocacy organizations in Colorado
Outside facilitation and accountability support: Spring Up Collective, AORTA Cooperative, or a local facilitator. Also where we turn when Jam Support can’t hold a situation internally.
LGBTQ+, BIPOC, and disability-specific support organizations

Keep this to one page. A resource list nobody can scan is a resource list nobody uses.

9. Where Everything Lives

Community Agreements — posted in the space · website
Protocol for Responding to Harm — posted in the space · website
This handbook — website · Google Drive
Resource List — jam box · website
Emergency procedures — poster in the space · Section 4
Conversation Record forms — jam box (blank) · Google Drive (fillable)
Jam Support log — Google Drive (private)
Meeting notes — Google Drive
Group chat — WhatsApp (link held by Jam Support, not printed here)
Role sign-up — website

Posters in the space: emergency procedures · Community Agreements (short version) · how to give feedback, including anonymously · who Jam Support is today.

How This Document Changes

Same as the others: propose it, four weeks posted publicly, active Jam Support decides.

If something in here is making your life harder, that’s an agenda item. This document is supposed to reduce work, not create it.

With gratitude. This handbook was inspired by the Chicago Contact Improv Sunday Jam, who shared their collective governance and jam support materials with us.

Related documents: Community Agreements · Protocol for Responding to Harm · Resource List

Version 1.0, adopted August 2026 by Denver Contact Jam Support