AA Meeting Social Work Perspective

Alcoholics Anonymous Observation
September 22, 2013

One location of Alcoholics Anonymous meets on Tuesday; the one I attended was on September 19, 2013. The meeting begins at the fixed time of eight in the evening for an hour. Walking into the meeting, there were fifteen people in attendance. Most of the members were older, African American men. There were three women, two white and one African American. Walking into the meeting, I decided to go for it, and sit near the front of the room. At the beginning of the meeting, the facilitator, Marvin, welcomed all that came. He was sitting in the front of the room, and made the crowd feel comfortable. He provided the members with snacks and coffee, which helped to lighten the mood. Throughout most of the meeting he sat, seeming relaxed, listening to the speaker attentively. Soon after the meeting started, he asked other members of the meeting to start the discussion. After the facilitator asked members to read materials, and it seemed that the meeting was structured in a ritual way. The meeting was laid back and welcoming, but construction to how it functions was clear. The meeting was in a quiet area of the hospital. Almost immediately after the meeting started, the “chairperson” went to the podium to welcome the members. The chairperson was assumingly in her twenties, African American, and introduced herself as an alcoholic. Being the only new person at the meeting, she then asked me to introduce myself. After my introduction, the rest of the members said hello and clapped for my attendance. Following, the chairperson read aloud the “preamble.” The basis of the preamble was to introduce the idea that anyone is welcome to the meeting, and that the only requirement is the common desire to stop drinking. The preamble also states that it is not affiliated with any religious groups and that the group is self-supported through member contributions. The chairperson then passed the microphone off to another member that she had asked to share before the meeting started. This member, also assumingly in his twenties came to the podium and introduced himself as an alcoholic. He read the script of “How It Works.” The script explains how the program works, and that it is necessary for the member to recognize that they have a problem bigger than themselves. The “How It Works” script explains that members have admitted that they are powerless to alcohol and that the lives of the members have become unmanageable. However, the script then goes on to explain how a member can manage and overcome the power of alcohol with the help of other members, god and themselves. After the member finished reading the script, the chairperson then returned to the podium to give the member a hug for sharing. The rest of the members applauded the man and said “thank-you.” Next, the chairperson asked another member to come up to the podium and read the “12 Traditions.” The member approached the podium and introduced himself as an alcoholic and was welcomed by the group. The “12 Traditions” list the principles of the Alcoholics Anonymous groups as a whole, with the main goal to support anyone who is suffering from alcohol and to not loose sight of that. The members then applauded him for sharing. Following, the chairperson returned to the podium again and gave the member a hug for sharing. The chairperson then reviewed the guidelines before any members began to share. These guidelines include confidentiality, the ability to share experiences (using “I”) as well as the idea of not “Fixing” or “Giving Advice” to another member, but to support them. Succeeding the readings that Alcoholics Anonymous is built on, the chairperson then asked the night’s first speaker to take the podium. The first speaker, to my surprise, was the group leader. Marvin took the podium and the members applauded and greeted him before he started to speak. As Marvin began to speak, he warned the group that he was not expecting to speak; but, due to the absence of another member, he accepted the request. I could tell that he was nervous, and other group members could as well. However, another group member raised his hand and asked Marvin if he would like to pass and that member would share instead. Marvin took the offer. The group applauded both Marvin and the volunteer willing to share their experience instead. The next member came up to share his experiences, and was welcomed from the rest of the group in the same way, applauded and with a hello. The woman, Robin, was forty-eight years old and African American. She started by explaining her childhood. She explained that she grew up on the east side of Columbus, and twenty-five years ago, the neighborhood was “actually worse.” She mentioned that by the time that she was in the sixth grade, the majority of the people that she knew were drinking and experimenting with drugs. Robin mentioned corner stores that used to be in the neighborhood, that even in the sixth grade, she could go to get beer. By the time that she reached high school, it was a normal part of her life. After school, she knew that she could go to get her alcohol. She mentioned that there was not anything else to do in the neighborhood, and that all of her friends and siblings did the same things. Robin did not finish high school, and mentioned that her life went downhill from the moment she dropped out. However, she only knows that her quality of life declined in retrospect; because, during that time, she thought she was living better than others. After she dropped out, she began to live on the streets and get involved in prostitution and gang life. Robin mentioned that she liked that life because it was “commitment-free.” She stated that she didn’t have to be in a long-term relationship because she didn’t want to have to be responsible to care about another person. The only thing that she cared about was when she could drink again and feel better. However, Robin did not just admit to being an alcoholic, but a “blackout drunk.” She shared the moment that she first thought she was not going to drink again. She was in a blackout state, living on the streets and got into a fight. She said sobriety lasted less than forty-eight hours. She began drinking again, and did not stop until mandated into a treatment facility. She was resistant to the treatment at first, but eventually realized that she could change her life around. With the help of the facility she was able to pull it together, and has been sober since 1997. She now lives in an apartment, received her GED, and has a job at a homeless shelter. Robin says she still attends Alcoholics Anonymous meetings because of the accountability and support she receives. After she finished sharing, the group applauded and thanked her. The chairperson returned to the pulpit and began the closing rituals. All the members got up and went to the front of the room. Hand in hand, the group recited the “Serenity Prayer.” The prayer is such, "God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I can not change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. Keep coming back it works if you work it.” Following the chant, everyone in the group recited the Lord’s Prayer. The meeting ended and the members stuck around to ask questions and catch up with the group. After the meeting, I went to my car and sat to reflect on the meeting. First, I wrote down a summary of everything I could remember. Then, I sat in the parking lot for fifteen minutes to collect my thoughts. Although I was sad for the people who attend the group, I realized that the group functions extremely well. The environment is open, and people can come and go from the meeting. It is organized and runs smoothly. The environment is judgment-free and each member has a common goal, to quit drinking. At the beginning of the meeting, the chairperson asked if anyone had a sobriety to share. One woman exclaimed that it had been eleven days, while another mentioned ten months. Also, anyone who wants to share a struggle or a success has the opportunity to speak. The support people received after sharing was unbelievable. The environment is positive even though the reason they are there may be negative. There is an unspoken bond between all the members-regardless of color, age or gender. These factors are all reasons that factor into the successful functioning of the group. Alcoholics Anonymous is a useful support group for those struggling with the use of alcohol. The meeting brings together people who are similar to each other-a place where they can bring their struggles to people suffering with the same thing. This is encouraging someone in there recovery. The group has a range of sobriety-from a few days to years. This creates accountability and responsibility. The group has the ability to do something that a professional worker may not be able to do-to relate. By dealing with the same problem, they can share what helps them stay sober, and create relationships with others that are not based on alcohol use. The group has the ability to make individuals take a second look at themselves and make positive decisions. The strongest strength of the group, in my opinion, is that it offers hope to people, especially for those individuals at the meeting I attended. Most attendees at the east meeting live in poverty, and are surrounded by alcohol all day (advertisements, store set-ups, peers, ect), so coming to a meeting that promotes not drinking alcohol gives a sense that it is doable. The meetings show that the individual is not alone. However, I do think that additional help from other sources, such as professionals or treatment facilities helps to increase the success of the individual struggling.