We Can Help . . .

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We Can Help . . .

• Alcoholics Anonymous
• Cooperation with the Professional Community (CPC)
  Committee

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• How Did A.A. Start?
• What is A.A.?
• How Big is A.A.?
• What Does A.A. Do?
• What A.A. Does Not Do
• The 12 Traditions of A.A.

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How Did A.A. Start?

• The Birth of A.A. and its growth in the U.S.
  Canada had its beginnings in 1935 at Akron, Ohio,
  as the outcome of a meeting between Bill W., a
  New York stock analyst, and Dr. Bob S., an Akron
  surgeon.
• Both had been hopeless alcoholics. Prior to that
  time, Bill and Dr. Bob had each been in contact
  with the Oxford Group, a mostly non-alcoholic
  fellowship that emphasized universal spiritual
  values in daily living. In that period, the
  Oxford Groups in America were headed by the noted
  Episcopal clergyman, Dr. Samuel Shoemaker.
• Under this spiritual influence, and with the help
  of an old-time friend, Ebby T., Bill had gotten
  sober and had then maintained his recovery by
  working with other alcoholics, though none of
  these had actually recovered. Meanwhile, Dr.
  Bobs Oxford Group membership at Akron had not
  helped him enough to achieve sobriety.

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How Did A.A. Start?

• When Dr. Bob and Bill finally met, through the
  assistance of a clergyman, the effect on the
  doctor was immediate. This time, he found himself
  face to face with a fellow sufferer who had made
  good. Bill hammered home that alcoholism was a
  malady of mind, emotions and body. He had learned
  this all-important fact from Dr. William D.
  Silkworth of Towns Hospital in New York, where
  Bill had often been a patient.
• Though a physician himself, Dr. Bob had not known
  alcoholism to be a disease. Responding to Bills
  convincing ideas, he soon got sober, never to
  drink again. The founding spark of A.A. had been
  struck.
• Both men immediately set to work with alcoholics
  at Akrons City Hospital, where one patient
  quickly achieved complete sobriety.

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How Did A.A. Start?

• Though the name Alcoholics Anonymous had yet to
  be coined, these three men actually made up the
  nucleus of the first A.A. group.
• In the fall of 1935, a second group of alcoholics
  slowly took shape in New York. A third appeared
  at Cleveland in 1939. It had taken more than four
  years to produce 100 sober alcoholics in the
  three founding groups.
• Early in 1939, the Fellowship published its basic
  textbook, Alcoholics Anonymous. The text, written
  by Bill, explained A.A.s philosophy and methods,
  the core of which was the now well-known Twelve
  Steps of recovery. The book was also reinforced
  by case histories of some thirty recovered
  members. From this point, the development of
  Alcoholics Anonymous was rapid.

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• How Did A.A. Start?
• What is A.A.?
• How Big is A.A.?
• What Does A.A. Do?
• What A.A. Does Not Do
• The 12 Traditions of A.A.

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What is A.A.?

• Alcoholics Anonymous is a fellowship of men and
  women
• A.A. members need always maintain personal
  anonymity at the level of press, radio, film, TV,
  etc. In all other cases, we can say were members
  but should never break another members
  anonymity. A.A. is not a religious group, cult,
  business, etc. Nor is it a social club or dating
  service. A.A. membership is open to men and woman
  of all ages, races, creeds and colors assuming
  they meet our one requirement.
• who share their experience, strength and hope
  with each other
• A.A. members dont give each other advice nor
  require any type of conformance. A.A. provides no
  professional or social services. We simply share
  what weve done and the results we have gotten.

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What is A.A.?

• that they may solve their common problem and
  help others to recover from alcoholism.
• Alcoholism is our focus. Helping others helps
  us. We recover. However, we are never cured.
• The only requirement for membership is a desire
  to stop drinking.
• Anyone with a drinking problem who has a desire
  to stop may become an A.A. member. A.A. members
  do not diagnose each other. Each member must
  declare himself or herself an alcoholic.
  Individuals who have no history of problem
  drinking are not eligible for A.A. membership.
• There are no dues or fees for A.A. membership
• It costs nothing to join A.A. or to remain a
  member of Alcoholics Anonymous.

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What is A.A.?

• we are self-supporting through our own
  contributions.
• A.A. accepts money from no one but its members.
  There is a 2,000 limit per member per year.
• A.A. is not allied with any sect, denomination,
  politics, organization or institution
• A.A. has no religious, political or business
  affiliations. We are not linked to any other
  12-Step programs. A.A. has no connection with any
  medical or treatment centers.
• does not wish to engage in any controversy
• A.A. does not support one medical or
  psychological viewpoint over another as it
  relates to alcoholism.
• neither endorses nor opposes any causes.
• A.A. is not a temperance movement. A.A. is
  not opposed to or in favor of drinking alcohol.

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What is A.A.?

• Our primary purpose is to stay sober and help
  other alcoholics to achieve sobriety.
• A.A. members have no other agendas or objectives
  but to maintain their sobriety and pass along
  what was freely given to them. Rarely have we
  seen a person fail who has thoroughly followed
  our path. People recover if they work the 12
  Steps.

The A.A. Preamble Alcoholics Anonymous is a
fellowship of men and women who share their
experience, strength and hope with each other
that they may solve their common problem and help
others to recover from alcoholism. The only
requirement for membership is a desire to stop
drinking. There are no dues or fees for A.A.
membership we are self- supporting through our
own contributions. A.A. is not allied with any
sect, denomination, politics, organization, or
institution does not wish to engage in any
controversy neither endorses nor opposes any
causes. Our primary purpose is to stay sober and
help other alcoholics to achieve sobriety.
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• How Did A.A. Start?
• What is A.A.?
• How Big is A.A.?
• What Does A.A. Do?
• What A.A. Does Not Do
• The 12 Traditions of A.A.

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How Big is A.A.?

• Because A.A. has never attempted to keep formal
  membership lists, it is extremely difficult to
  obtain completely accurate figures on total
  membership at any given time.
• Some local groups are not listed with the
  U.S./Canada General Service Office (in New York).
  Others do not provide membership data, so theyre
  not recorded on the G.S.O. computer records.
• The membership figures we have are based on
  reports to the General Service Office as of
  January 1, 2002, plus an average allowance for
  groups that have not reported their membership.

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How Big is A.A.?

• There is no practical way of counting members who
  are not affiliated with a local group.
• Estimated A.A. Membership and Group Information
• Groups in U.S. 51,537
• Groups in Canada 4,903
• Members in U.S. 1,168,990
• Members in Canada 96,100
• Groups Overseas 44,762
• Members Overseas 760,140
• Internationalists 74
• Groups in Correctional Facilities
• U.S./Canada 2,566
• Lone Members 214
• Total Members 2,092,460
• Total Groups 103,768

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How Big is A.A.?

• INTERNATIONALISTS (SEAGOING A.A.s)Approximately
  74 persons in naval service or the merchant
  marine on sea duty describe themselves as "A.A.
  Internationalists." General Service Office staff
  members correspond with these members and make it
  possible for them to correspond with each other.
  Internationalists have been responsible for
  starting and encouraging local A.A. groups in
  many ports.
• LONERSSome 214 men and women living in isolated
  areas throughout the world (or in areas where it
  has not been possible to form a local group) are
  listed at the General Service Office as Lone
  Members. Many achieved sobriety solely through
  study of A.A. literature. They correspond with
  G.S.O. and with their counterparts in other
  sections of the world. In a number of cases,
  notably U.S. military installations overseas,
  Loners have been responsible for establishing
  local groups.

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• How Did A.A. Start?
• What is A.A.?
• How Big is A.A.?
• What Does A.A. Do?
• What A.A. Does Not Do
• The 12 Traditions of A.A.

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What Does A.A. Do?

• The relative success of the A.A. program seems to
  be due to the fact that an alcoholic who no
  longer drinks has an exceptional faculty for
  "reaching" and helping an uncontrolled drinker.
• In simplest form, the A.A. program operates when
  recovered alcoholics pass along the story of
  their own problem drinking, describing the
  sobriety they have found in A.A., and invite the
  newcomer to join the informal Fellowship.
• The heart of the suggested program of personal
  recovery is contained in Twelve Steps describing
  the experience of the earliest members of the
  Society

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What Does A.A. Do?

• A.A. members share their experience with anyone
  seeking help with a drinking problem they give
  person-to-person service or "sponsorship" to the
  alcoholic coming to A.A. from any source.
• The A.A. program, set forth in our Twelve Steps,
  offers the alcoholic a way to develop a
  satisfying life without alcohol. And it is this
  program that we discuss at A.A. group meetings.
• Newcomers are not asked to accept or follow these
  Twelve Steps in their entirety if they feel
  unwilling or unable to do so. They will usually
  be asked to keep an open mind, to attend meetings
  at which recovered alcoholics describe their
  personal experiences in achieving sobriety, and
  to read A.A. literature describing and
  interpreting the A.A. program of recovery.

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What Does A.A. Do?

• A.A. members will usually emphasize to newcomers
  that only problem drinkers themselves,
  individually, can determine whether or not they
  are in fact alcoholics.
• At the same time, it will be pointed out that all
  available medical testimony indicates that
  alcoholism is a progressive illness, that it
  cannot be cured in the ordinary sense of the
  term, but that it can be arrested through total
  abstinence from alcohol in any form.
• Before coming to A.A., about 60 of the members
  received some type of treatment or counseling,
  such as medical, psychological, spiritual, etc.
• A.A. has a long history of cooperating but not
  affiliating with outside organizations and being
  available to provide A.A. meetings or information
  about A.A. upon request.

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• How Did A.A. Start?
• What is A.A.?
• How Big is A.A.?
• What Does A.A. Do?
• What A.A. Does Not Do
• The 12 Traditions of A.A.

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What A.A. Does Not Do

• Furnish initial motivation for alcoholics to
  recover
• Solicit members
• Engage in or sponsor research
• Keep attendance records or case histories
• Join councils of social agencies
• Follow up or try to control its members
• Make medical or psychological diagnoses or
  prognoses
• Provide drying-out or nursing services,
  hospitalization, drugs, or any medical or
  psychiatric treatment
• Offer religious services
• Engage in education about alcohol
• Provide housing, food, clothing, jobs, money, or
  any other welfare or social services
• Provide domestic or vocational counseling
• Accept any money for its services, or any
  contributions from non-A.A. sources
• Provide letters of reference to parole boards,
  lawyers, court officials, social agencies,
  employers, etc.

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• How Did A.A. Start?
• What is A.A.?
• How Big is A.A.?
• What Does A.A. Do?
• What A.A. Does Not Do
• The 12 Traditions of A.A.

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The Twelve Traditions of A.A.

• During its first decade, A.A. as a fellowship
  accumulated substantial experience which
  indicated that certain group attitudes and
  principles were particularly valuable in assuring
  survival of the informal structure of the
  Fellowship. In 1946, in the Fellowships
  international journal, the A.A. Grapevine, these
  principles were reduced to writing by the
  founders and early members as the Twelve
  Traditions of Alcoholics Anonymous. They were
  accepted and endorsed by the membership as a
  whole at the International Convention of A.A., at
  Cleveland, Ohio, in 1950.
• Tradition 3 states The only requirement for A.A.
  membership is a desire to stop drinking.
• Tradition 5 states Each group has but one
  primary purposeto carry its message to the
  alcoholic who still suffers.

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The Twelve Traditions of A.A.

• The A.A. Preamble states Our primary purpose is
  to stay sober and help other alcoholics to
  achieve sobriety (freedom from alcohol).
• Singleness of Purpose and Problems Other Than
  AlcoholIts worth noting that the Third
  Tradition was written primarily to keep the doors
  of A.A. open to everyone who suffered from
  alcoholism. We also think the Third Tradition
  assumes we are talking about a person who has a
  drinking problem. Therefore, a person without a
  history of problem drinking is not eligible for
  A.A. membership. This would of course include
  nonalcoholic drug addicts. A drug addict with a
  drinking problem can become an A.A. member.
  George E. Vaillant, M.D., nonalcoholic trustee
  of the A.A. General Service Board, made the
  following statement "Singleness of purpose is
  essential to the effective treatment of
  alcoholism. Unless alcoholism is kept
  relentlessly in the foreground, other issues will
  usurp everybody's attention."

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The Twelve Traditions of A.A.

• Alcoholism and drug addiction are often referred
  to as "substance abuse" or "chemical
  dependency.Alcoholics and non-alcoholics are
  often introduced to A.A. and encouraged to attend
  A.A. meetings. However, it needs to be made clear
  that non-alcoholics should only be directed to
  open meetings and that they understand they are
  not eligible to be A.A. members.
• Open A.A. meetings are open to alcoholics and
  non-alcoholics. However, as an Alcoholics
  Anonymous meeting, the topic should always remain
  on the A.A. message of recovery from alcoholism.
  Accordingly, non-alcoholics, having no relevant
  experience to share, should sit back, relax and
  listen during these meetings.
• Closed meetings are for alcoholics or prospective
  A.A. members only.

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The Twelve Traditions and Professionals

• Part of our responsibility as A.A. members is to
  help professionals understand our Traditions.
  While they are not bound by them, professionals
  should understand that they can negatively impact
  Alcoholics Anonymous by refusing to acknowledge
  our Twelve Traditions.
• Sending non-alcoholics to A.A. with the
  understanding that they will be accepted as
  members is not only not correct, its in direct
  defiance of the expressed wishes of A.A. as a
  whole.
• Our co-founder Bill W. said there is simply no
  way to turn a non-alcoholic into an alcoholic.
  And frankly, why try? We cant provide the help
  they need and they will suffer as a result.
  Selfishly and more important to us, they will
  divert us from our primary purpose.

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The Twelve Traditions and Professionals

• What Do You Mean by Cooperation and Not
  Affiliation?A.A. has a long history of
  cooperating but not affiliating with outside
  organizations. Upon request, we are always
  available to provide information about Alcoholics
  Anonymous and A.A. meetings. While we are guided
  again by our traditions, we need to understand
  and respect the regulations, laws and procedures
  which dictate the conduct of our professional
  friends.
• Tradition 6 states An A.A. group ought never
  endorse, finance or lend the A.A. name to any
  related facility or outside enterprise, lest
  problems of money, property and prestige divert
  us from our primary purpose.Our cooperation is
  never to be taken as an endorsement. We should
  never be linked with a facility or group
  publicly. We also dont become active in the
  official proceedings or procedures of any outside
  group, organization or facility.

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The Twelve Traditions and Professionals

• Tradition 8 states Alcoholics Anonymous should
  remain forever nonprofessional, but our service
  centers may employ special workers. Our Twelve
  Step work is done for free. We accept no money
  for this work.
• Tradition 10 states Alcoholics Anonymous has no
  opinion on outside issues hence the A.A. name
  ought never be drawn into public controversy.As
  Alcoholics Anonymous members, we express no
  public opinion regarding the policies or
  procedures of the professional groups or
  organization with which we cooperate.
• Tradition 11 Our public relations policy is
  based on attraction rather than promotion we
  need always maintain personal anonymity at the
  level of press, radio, and films. We never
  require our members to attend meetings. And, we
  never break or allow others to break our
  anonymity at the public level. In addition
  newcomers should be able to seek help with
  assurance that their identities will not be
  disclosed to anyone outside the Fellowship.

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How You Can Help

• The primary purpose of Alcoholics Anonymous is to
  carry its message of recovery to the alcoholic
  seeking help.
• How the Clergy Can Help
• Professionals such as you will see many more
  people with difficulties related to alcohol than
  we will.
• Many of us found sobriety when a professional who
  was educated enough and cared enough made an
  effective referral to A.A.
• Crisis, often a precipitator of sobriety
• Every sober member of A.A. had some sort of
  personal crisis at the time they became sober.
• This crisis can range from real consequences
  related to drinking such as incarceration,
  divorce, or loss of a job. to potential or
  threatened actions such as warnings to stop
  drinking from a spouse or employer or possible
  legal consequences.
• Crisis can be a springboard for recovery if used
  right. It has been our experience that the
  greatest chance of sobriety happens when the
  individual in crisis comes in contact with an
  experienced sober member of A.A., with whom they
  can relate.

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How You Can Help

• Referring an Individual with an Alcohol Problem
  to A.A.
• Get to know one or two members of A.A. in your
  area with experience in this type of work and
  whom you feel comfortable calling on.
• Attend an open A.A. meeting with them to
  familiarize yourself first hand with the
  program.
• Set up a meeting between the A.A. member and the
  individual with difficulties related to alcohol
  (an exchange of phone numbers is usually
  adequate).
• If you are not familiar with experienced A.A.
  members in your area, contact Georgia A.A., by
  e-mail (Public_Information_at_aageorgia.org) or
  phone [phone]) and we will put you in
  contact with a member in your area who has done a
  lot of 12th Step work.
• Avoid sending the individual troubled by alcohol
  directly to A.A.as experience has shown this to
  be far less effective.
• Courtesy AARichmond.org