What is Alcoholics Anonymous?

A.A. began in the United States in 1935 and now exists in most countries in the world. In South Africa it has been going for decades, and in KZN there are meetings every day of the week, from Port Edward in the south to Newcastle in the north.

There are no dues or fees. Groups pay their own way through voluntary contributions from members and accept no money from outside sources. A.A. is not allied to any sect, denomination, political party, organisation or institution, does not wish to engage in any controversy, and neither endorses nor opposes any cause.

What A.A. does

• Members share their own experience with anyone who reaches out for help with drinking — on the phone, in a meeting, or one to one.
• Newer members are usually encouraged to find a sponsor: an experienced member who works through the programme with them individually.
• The A.A. programme, set out in the Twelve Steps, offers a practical way to build a life that does not need alcohol in it. Those steps are what most meetings discuss.
• Groups hold regular meetings, keep a phone line answered, and carry the message into hospitals, treatment centres and prisons where they are invited.

What A.A. does not do

Being clear about this saves a good deal of disappointment. A.A. does not:

• supply the motivation to stop — that has to come from you;
• recruit members, or follow up on anyone who stops coming;
• keep attendance records, case histories or membership lists;
• make medical or psychological diagnoses, or offer any form of treatment;
• provide detox, nursing, hospitalisation, medication or psychiatric care;
• run research programmes, or provide education about alcohol;
• offer housing, food, clothing, jobs, money or other welfare services;
• provide domestic, marital, legal or career counselling;
• hold religious services, or align itself with any faith;
• accept payment for what it does, or donations from outside A.A.;
• write letters of reference for parole boards, courts, employers or social agencies.

What A.A. will happily do is work alongside doctors, counsellors, treatment centres, clergy and employers who are helping the same person. See information for professionals.

Open and closed meetings

Meetings come in two kinds, and every meeting on our KZN list is marked as one or the other.

Common formats

• Speaker meetings — one or two members tell their story: what it was like, what happened, and what life is like now.
• Discussion meetings — a member opens on a topic and the room shares around it.
• Step or Big Book meetings — a close reading of one of the Twelve Steps or a passage from A.A. literature.
• Workshops — longer sessions working through the steps or a particular theme.

Anonymity

Anonymity is not secrecy for its own sake. It exists so that anybody — a magistrate, a nurse, a taxi driver, a teacher — can walk into a meeting without risking their reputation or their job. It also keeps the focus on the message rather than on personalities. Members do not disclose who attends, and what is said in a room stays there.

Self-supporting

Each group pays its own rent and buys its own tea and literature out of what members put in the basket. A.A. declines outside contributions, which is what keeps it free of obligation to anyone. As a newcomer, you are a guest — please do not contribute.