How to Start an AA Meeting or Group in Your Area
Keeping up with your AA meetings helps you stay sober, but you hate that you have to drive so far away. The last thing you want is to rejoin the almost 15 million Americans with an alcohol use disorder.
You know that a few of the others in your AA meetings would appreciate a closer meeting location. Can you start a new AA meeting group yourself?
We put together a quick guide to teach you how to start an AA meeting. Keep reading to learn everything you need to know about getting a recovery group started in your local area.
Raise Start-up Money
The first step is to raise enough money to cover expenses for your first meeting. Members of the group can pull together the funds and agree to use the donation pot to pay it back over time.
How to Start an AA Meeting and Attract New Members
The best way to keep your meeting going is to attract more people. One survey found about 22.3 million recovering alcoholics in the US. But, you want to reach out to both current and recovering alcoholics to make the biggest impact on your community.
Securing the Venue
Picking a place to have your meetings is also important. Make sure to choose a place that supports the AA meeting format you envision. Also, make sure your group can afford the rental fee so you don't go into debt.
Items to Bring to Meetings
Since you can't always keep your meeting supplies at the meeting venue, consider making a list of supplies to make sure you remember to bring everything. This is a list of our favorite items to bring to AA support groups.
- The Big Book and other AA literature
- Anonymity Card
- Twelve Step posters
- A donation pot (some groups use a bell of some type)
- AA Milestone coins
- The AA Structure Handbook
- AA Service Handbooks
- Refreshments
Managing the Group Funds
While you may know how to handle the petty cash from the donation pot, it's not the best choice. To make sure you keep funds separate from your own money, open a separate bank account.
Register Your Group
Once you have a few meetings and feel confident that the group can support itself, it's time to register the group with your local General Service Office. Once registered, other alcoholics can find your group when they search the database.
Taking the Journey of Your Life One Step at a Time
Recovering from alcoholism isn't easy and most people relapse at least once. It's important to live your sober life one day at a time so you can cope without alcohol.
Keep this article in mind when you're ready to start up your own local AA meeting group. That way, you can build something that helps your community heal from their alcohol addiction.
We hope you enjoyed reading this article and that you learned how to start an AA meeting. If you have any questions about this article or if you want to order some custom sobriety coins, contact us today!