how do i go about starting an AA meeting/group/franchise?????

AMDFA · Newbie

how do i go about starting an AA meeting/group/franchise?????

Philipld · MIP Old Timer

Is your husband an AA member? If so...he can go to his district meeting and they will give him all the info he needs

The same re N/A

betterthanyesterday52 · MIP Old Timer

Good morning Jennifer. I am not sure about NA meetings. As for AA meetings, it is my understanding that if you are an alcoholic and have been sober for a year (it is recommended, I am not sure if it is required) and a member of AA for that long, then you can contact your local AA intergroup and get more information. You would want to talk to your church and find out if they are open to the idea and find out about rent. Possibly all you need to do is get the word out to other church members that you want to do that and possibly alcoholics who are in AA would be interested and who have some time in AA and who are familiar with AA meeting procedures, steps, traditions, etc. If you and your husband have no experience in AA I don't know how you would just start up meetings on your own. There is also information on the internet if you do a search. That is very nice of you and your husband to want to help in that capacity.
Here is a link:
http://www.aa.org/subpage.cfm?page=95

BTY

tomsteve · Senior Member

welcome. Im glad to see ya's wanting to reach out and help the community. however, reading yer post( and thread title. theres no such thing as an AA franchise), im gonna take a guess that neither of you are involved with AA at this time? are you in recovery? being in recovery and involved with AA, having worked the steps, is a great place to start when starting a meeting. what you could do is call yer local central office and see if they can put oyu in contact with someone in AA that would be interested in starting a meeting. theres always room for more meetings, but without someone already involved with AA, I don't know how well that would fly.

theres also the celebrate recovery program you could look into.

Pythonpappy · MIP Old Timer

I'm with Tom here, ... there is no AA franchise, so the wording you used suggests to me that you are unfamiliar with the AA program and 'way of life' (which is deeply 'spiritual' by-the-way) ... ... ... and if your husband were in AA, he would have also known the steps to take to start a local group ... which is a great idea I might add ...

I suggest going to a few AA meetings where they are scheduled 'Open' meetings ... anyone is welcome to attend these ... (if it a 'Closed' meeting, then they welcome 'alcoholics' only ..) ... THEN, if you want to pursue this endeavor, talk with the chairperson and a 'senior' member of that group and see if they feel there is enough support to start another meeting in your area ... ideally, you'd have at least a handful of this groups members help you in getting established ... BUT, you have to trust devoted AA members to 'run the program' if you or your husband are not alcoholics and members of AA already ...

AMDFA · Newbie

First an formost thank you guys for the advice and input. ok as far as the franchise part i actually read it online somewhere. Also my husband did take part in AA meetings but only because it was part of his DUI classes. So he knows somewhat about meetings,speakers,sponsors,12 steps, and all that. I went to AA.ORG and that said something about applying to the GENERAL SERVICE OFFICE in new york to start a group. I did download the application but I wasnt sure if there was more to it. I also did not know that you had to be an AA member to start a group.

-- Edited by AMDFA on Monday 7th of April 2014 02:50:46 PM

tomsteve · Senior Member

would you want a mechanic workin on your car that took part in a class and knows 'somewhat" how a car works? or a mechanic that has learned about how cars work and has been workin on fixin them daily for some time?
works the same with alcoholics. we tend to listen to and take suggestions from the ones that went before us in AA.
its great that ya want to help the community and I would encourage you, if you truly want to start another meeting, follow pappy's advise.

2granddaughters · Senior Member

Do you want to start a group or just host one?

Offering an area in the church for a small rent for a group would be great.

In our area finding a good inexpensive room is next to impossible.

All the best.

Bob R

betterthanyesterday52 · MIP Old Timer

One thing I do know is that it is a huge undertaking as well as commitment. If you do start a group, and you meet on a weekly basis, there would have to be someone who could run each meeting. If you and your husband like to travel, go on vacations, etc., someone dependable would need to be there in your absence. People would begin to depend on coming to that location and if the doors are open one week and closed the next, this wouldn't be a good thing. In my area we even have meetings on major holidays because people still want to drink on those days and need the meetings. Personally, I would never undertake such a huge responsibility to run meetings after going to just a few "required" ones. The ones I attend are run by alcoholics who have some time and experience in AA. If you do decide to do it and neither of you are alcoholics, you would want to have "open" meetings which means anyone can attend and they don't have to be alcoholic. "Closed" meetings are ones just for alcoholics. Speaking of that, I don't mean this as a slam against you and your husband....I doubt that I would attend a meeting if I knew the people running it are not alcoholics. If I didn't have so many meetings in my area to choose from and it was the only option to save my life, I would hope my thinking would change. God Bless you and your husband for wanting to help your community and alcoholics.

Here's some more info I found which may help you:

Starting a New A.A. Group
Reasons for starting a new group vary, but the ways to go about it are basically the same.

Important to establishing an A.A. group is the need for one as expressed by at least two or three alcoholics; the cooperation of other A.A. members; a meeting place; a coffeepot; A.A. literature and meeting lists; and other supplies.

Once the group is off to a good start, it would be helpful to announce its presence to neighboring groups; your local Intergroup (central) office, if there is one; your district and area committees; and the General Service Office. These sources can provide much support.

To list your A.A. group with G.S.O., click on the New Group Form icon to the right. Complete and return the form to G.S.O., Box 459, Grand Central Station, New York, NY 10163.

Please see below for suggested reading. We suggest you pay particular attention to the section Naming an A.A. Group in the pamphlet The A.A. Group

Each new group receives a complimentary handbook and a small supply of literature at no charge when it registers with the G.S.O (one of the many services made possible by the regular support of other A.A. groups and individual members).
http://www.aa.org/lang/en/subpage.cfm?page=95

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