Information obtained on this page acquired from the Pamphlet "AA in Correctional Facilities" See Pamphlet for more information not shown on this page.

THE WESTERN MASS
AREA 31 INSTITUTIONS COMMITTEE

The monthly Institutions Committee meeting of
Area 31 is held on the 1st Wednesday of the month
at 7pm at the Providence Hospital on
Route 5 in Holyoke, MA

Starting Groups In Correctional Facilities

One primary purpose

The formation of an inside A.A. group is based on cooperation and an understanding between authorities and the A.A. people, The basis of the new group’s operation is in the rules and regulations under which the superintendent will permit an A.A. group to function inside.

It is equally important for everyone to have a clear understanding of what an A.A. can and cannot do to help alcoholics – in correctional facilities and after they are released. In prison or out, an A.A. group has but one primary purpose – to carry its message to the alcoholic who still suffers.

How Groups Start

An A.A. group in any correctional institution starts with the permission and cooperation of the officials in that institution. After that, several steps are in order. The following procedure is for prisons and other long-term institutions, Jail groups are a little different and will be discussed separately.

Policy meetings

A preliminary meeting is held between the administration and the A.A. people who will work with the new group, to work out the ground rules for the new group. The ground rules are laid down by the administration and should be put down in writing for prison group members and nearby A.A. groups that participate in the prison group’s activities. Policy matters include deciding when and where the group is to meet; and setting conditions under which A.A. visitors may attend these meetings.

Getting started

There are three ways the group might get started: (1) voluntary response to the announcement of the group’s formation; (2) informal invitation by the chaplain or some other prison official; (3) assignment of selected inmates by an official. Since the only requirement for A.A. membership is a desire to stop drinking, nonalcoholic narcotic addicts are not eligible to be members of .A. groups; but like anyone else they may attend any open A.A. meetings the group decides to hold.

Group sponsors

The next step is to get the group going. This responsibility is usually given to two sponsors. One sponsor comes from the staff of the facility, frequently a chaplain, social worker, or advisor; the other sponsor is from A.A. outside.

If membership is voluntary, there will have to be an advance announcement of the group’s formation and an open invitation to attend. The first job of the two sponsors is to prepare this announcement and to see that it reaches all inmates. There are several ways: the prison newspaper; the public address system (usually at meal time); bulletin board notices; and by word of mouth. The first meeting is an organizational session that includes the prison sponsor and administrator, the A.A. sponsor and interested inmates.

Organizational meeting

The prison sponsor may act as chairperson and open the meeting. The administrator greets those attending, and explains why A.A. is being invited to the facility. The administrator often provides information, such as statistics on the incidence of alcohol and crime and the effect of A.A. on reductions of parole violations, etc. Then the chairperson states why the group is being formed and explains the preliminary steps which have already been taken.

Next, if the A.A. sponsor is to chair the meeting, he or she talks about A.A., perhaps explaining how it started, how it has grown, how it works in other correctional facilities, and how it helps inmates find a welcome and an easier transition into life wherever they may go, through A.A. groups on the outside.

The A.A. sponsor explains what an A.A. group is and how a group functions—through meetings and fellowship among members.  The A.A. sponsor also explains how A.A. groups nearby may be able to cooperate, and how the new group is related to the rest of the A.A. Fellowship through the Big Book (Alcoholics Anonymous), A.A. conference-approved literature, the bimonthly bulletin Box 4-5-9 (containing a special section on correctional facilities news and activities), correspondence with A.A.’s General Service Office, the Grapevine (the A.A. magazine), and inmate A.A. publications from other prisons.

The A.A. sponsor should prepare for this talk in advance by sending to the General Service Office for a complimentary prison package of A.A. literature and by obtaining copies of the Big Book, Box 4-5-9, the Grapevine, and local A.A. publications. Sometimes G.S.O. can provide samples of publications from A.A. groups in correctional facilities or, if there is time, arrange to have such samples sent from other prison groups.

One point which usually needs to be explained is why inmates have any need of A.A. while they are in prison. The answer is that the A.A. program is far more than staying away from alcohol. A.A. has been called a way of life, and its success in prison groups shows that this program an help the alcoholic inmate live a sober and contented life, both in prison and after release.

It might be well also to make the point, at the beginning of a new correctional facilities group, that A.A. promises no favors from the outside and no special treatment on the inside. A.A. is for sobriety.

When the A.A. sponsor has finished speaking, it is good to throw the meeting open to questions. This usually provides a useful and lively interlude before the final item on the agenda, the elections of officers.

Many local A.A. service committees will, upon request, provide informational presentations for your organization. Sessions can be tailored to meet your needs. A typical agenda might include one or several A.A. films and a presentation by one or more A.A. members on “What A.A. Is and What It Is Not.”

Officers and committees

It may be helpful, at first, to elect only temporary officers – a secretary and a planning committee to serve until the group is really underway. This puts a number of members to work right away and helps to make everybody feel that the group belongs to the members.

Later, when the group is functioning and the members know more about A.A. and about each other, they may elect whatever officers are needed. Most groups rotate these offices on a regular basis as a matter of principle.

There is no hard and fast way for an A.A. group to function. In fact, it is an A.A. Tradition that each group is completely autonomous — that means free to have as many officers, or as few, as it wishes—free to conduct its affairs any way it chooses, except in matters which may affect other A.A. groups or A.A. as a whole.  In most prison groups, the secretary is usually the key officer, serving as the group’s contact with the group’s sponsors and with prison officials, and is the communications link with the rest of A.A.

Unless others are asked to do the job, the secretary is responsible for arranging meeetings, with the help of the sponsors; arranging for speakers; and assigning a different member of the group to be chairperson, or leader, of the meeting each week. The secretary also sees that the group has A.A. pamphlets and books.

Perhaps the most vital part of the secretary’s role is communications. The most immediate of these contacts will be with nearby A.A. groups and members.

The group secretary is usually a busy corresponding secretary also, in regular mail contact with A.A.’s General Service Office in New York. In fact, sometimes, when a facility is in some remote location, the group’s contact with G.S.O. becomes its primary source of information, encouragement, and inspiration. The secretary will also be in touch with other prison groups—directly when permitted, and of course, through G.S.O.

At first, the group may have only one officer (the secretary) and one committee—the planning committee. It will be this committee’s job to work with the sponsors and the secretary to get the group going. Its members simply do anything and everything that needs to be done to get going. Later, the group may want a service committee to see that the meeting room is set up in advance and that the clean-up work is done afterwards.

A program committee might be needed to see that speaker meetings are booked in advance and that prison authorities know who’s coming, when, and from where.

A refreshment committee sees that there is coffee (and/or tea) for all, and whatever else their budget will allow in the way of cakes, cookies or donuts. Incidentally, coffee time after meetings is not only an A.A. custom, it is also an important part of A.A. fellowship.  The informal conversations and exchanges of the A.A. program which takes place here are often as valuable as the meeting.

Jail groups

Because sentences are usually shorter, A.A. in city and county jails is somewhat different from A.A. in prisons. So far, there are fewer permanent or even semi-permanent A.A. groups in jails. When there is rapid turnover in a jail population, outside A.A.’s—always in cooperation with the jail officials—provide meetings and follow through with individuals after they are released.

The steps to be taken to bring the A.A. program into a jail are much the same as described for prisons; preliminary meetings with administrations and city or county officials; mutual understanding of the jail’s rules, regulations and restrictions; and clear-cut designation of responsibilities at both ends.

How groups function

Once a group has chosen its first officers, it is ready to begin developing bonds of understanding with the entire Fellowship of Alcoholic Anonymous.

A.A. has been called a program of action. The power of A.A. seems to come from personal participation and letting it happen to you firsthand. Having A.A. members conduct their own group affairs and periodically rotating officers are doubly important for inside groups.

Identification with the Fellowship

It is important that the group itself, in addition to the individual, should feel a strong sense of belonging to A.A.

The sponsors should make every effort to put the group on its own as completely as possible, and also to bring in as much outside A.A. as can be arranged. Contacts with nearby groups and members will be the greatest single factor in relating the inside group to A.A. as a whole. As there are limitations on the frequency of in-person visits, sponsors may find other ways to bring in A.A.

In some areas correctional facility groups participate in the A.A. General Service Structure. For example, an inside group’s general service representative (G.S.R.) might be given a proxy vote or a vote through an alternate on the outside at district and area meetings.  In some instances, special arrangements are made for a representative from the group to attend area service meetings.

Literature helps. The basic piece of A.A. literature is the book Alcoholics Anonymous (called the Big Book). It should be read and reread by every A.A. member. “It Sure Beats Sitting in a Cell” is a pamphlet giving the experience of people who found A.A. in prison and telling how they stayed sober after they were released. The film and video cassette based on this pamphlet are also available. There are several other books and a sizable list of pamphlets (page 15 of this pamphlet), each of which deals with some important aspect of A.A.  It is always better if the group members can raise the money needed for A.A. literature and Grapevine subscriptions. But if this isn’t possible, the sponsors may also find ways of helping through institutions committees or correctional facilities at the area, district or local level.

A Group Handbook (a loose-leaf binder containing key pamphlets and other information) and Box 4-5-9 (a bimonthly news bulletin) will be sent to the group secretary as soon as the secretary and group are listed at G.S.O. Correspondence with the General Service Office regarding any questions the group may have always helps to produce a sense of belonging.

Meetings The heart of A.A. activity is meetings. Closed meetings are for alcoholics only.  Anyone interested may attend open meetings. In most institutions, the A.A. group holds meetings on a regular basis. There are different kinds of meetings. At a discussion meeting new members can get answers to their questions. A speaker meeting follows the usual A.A. pattern of what I used to be like, what happened, and what I am now like in A.A.  These talks help the new member to identify with other alcoholics as an alcoholic. Since the Twelve Steps are the basis of our recovery in A.A., many groups hold Step meetings. The leader might share a bit of his or her story and talk briefly about a particular Step and throw the meeting open for discussion. Each type of meeting serves a different purpose; all are needed.

Discussion meetings

In the beginning, it is usually a good idea to have both sponsors to sit in at meetings, maybe with an outside A.A. visitor or two, in order to provide some of the answers and to keep the meeting moving along in case of a lull.

However, after the members themselves know a little more about A.A., no outsiders are really needed, and sponsors can usually stay out of the discussion, unless their opinions are specifically asked for. This, of course, is good, for A.A. does not have any experts; the idea always is to encourage as much participation by as many members as possible.

Speaker meetings

Speaker meetings are usually scheduled during the weekend in order to make it easier for A.A. visitors to come in as speakers and to conduct the meetings. Outside A.A.s give the group a wider contact with A.A., a chance to meet a greater variety of A.A. people and hear more personal stories and experiences within the A.A. program.

Step meetings

In addition to a leader sharing his or her experience with a Step, some groups might read from Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, followed by a discussion. Many groups find listening to cassette tapes on the Steps helpful. (Tapes are available from the General Service Office.)

Special meetings

There are several types of special occasion meetings which the group may one day use. The most general of these is the anniversary meeting: at the end of each year, a group has a celebration, in which sponsors, administrators and others may take part. Also, personal anniversaries, marking the birthday of an individual’s sobriety, often give a meeting an extra degree of interest.

For more information about how groups function, see “The A.A. Group” pamphlet.

Corrections Correspondence Service (CSS)-A special kind of A.A. service.

Through the Corrections Correspondence Service the General Service Office will connect an inmate with an outside A.A. member so they may share their experience, strength and each other concerning sobriety and recovery in A.A. through the mail. As is suggested for sponsorship, men are put in touch with men, and women with women. The ‘outside’ member will be connected with an inmate in another region of the country. A free flyer is available from the G.S.O. describing this service, including guidelines which suggest the focus of this correspondence be kept on recovery from alcoholism through A.A.’s Twelve Steps.

______________________________________________________

WESTERN MASS INSTITUTIONS COMMITTEE

OPEN MEETING LIST

CARLSON CENTER – Springfield, Mass

MONDAY   NOON       SPONSOR (OPEN)       ALTERNATE (OPEN) FRIDAY     6:30PM      LINDA                         ALTERNATE (OPEN)

CHERRY STREET

4^TH SUNDAY     7:00pm      KEITH M            ALTERNATE (OPEN)

FRANKLIN COUNTY JAIL – WOMAN’S

TUESDAY           6:30pm      ANGELA           ALTERNATE (OPEN)

FRIDAY              7:00pm      SHAUNA          ALTERNATE (OPEN)

FRANKLIN MEDICAL CENTER

SUNDAY            5:30pm      CHRIS B           ALTERNATE (OPEN)

TUESDAY           5:30pm      DREW              ALTERNATE (OPEN)

GROVE STREET INN

WEDNESDAY     8:00pm      JOE                  ALTERNATE (OPEN)

HAMPDEN COUNTY

WEDNESDAY     6:00pm      JOHN R            ALTERNATE (OPEN)

HAMPDEN COUNTY – BUILDING C – MEN’S

MONDAY           7:00pm      LANCE              ALTERNATE (OPEN)

HAMPDEN COUNTY – BUILDING C – WOMANS

SUNDAY             7:00pm      TARYN           MICHELLE

HAMPDEN COUNTY – PRE-RELEASE – MEN

THURSDAY       7:00pm      BRIAN F            ALTERNATE (OPEN)

HAMPDEN COUNTY – PRE-RELEASE – WOMANS

FRIDAY             7:00pm      LINDA               ALTERNATE (OPEN)

HOLYOKE HOSPITAL – PSYCH UNIT

MONDAY           7:00pm           GENE           ALTERNATE (OPEN)

HOWARD STREET – MEN

2^ND SUNDAY      6:30pm          KENNY                       ROB

2^RD SUNDAY      6:30pm          GARY R                      CHARLIE

HOWARD STREET – WOMANS

TUESDAY           6:30pm      OPEN               ALTERNATE (OPEN)

2^ND WEDNESDAY 6:00pm     PAULA            ALTERNATE (OPEN)

3^RD WEDNESDAY 6:00pm     ELAINE           ALTERNATE (OPEN)

4^TH WEDNESDAY 6:00pm     MELISSA            CATHY

LEEDS VETERANS HOSPITAL – BUILDING 6

TUESDAY             7:00pm      BILL                           BARRY

MONDAY              7:00pm      BRIAN F        ALTERNATE (OPEN)

2^ND WEDNESDAY 7:00pm     ROB                ALTERNATE (OPEN)

3^RD WEDNESDAY 7:00pm     ROB                ALTERNATE (OPEN)

 
LUDLOW JAIL – MENS

THURSDAY        7:00pm      OPEN               ALTERNATE (OPEN)

SATURDAY        7:00pm      OPEN               ALTERNATE (OPEN)

 
PROVIDENCE HOSPITAL

WEDNESDAY     6:00pm      ANGELA             ALTERNATE(OPEN)

FRIDAY             3:30pm      OPEN                ALTERNATE (OPEN)

1^ST MONDAY      6:00pm      OPEN              ALTERNATE (OPEN)

2^ND MONDAY      6:00pm      SHARI             ALTERNATE (OPEN)

 
RFK – SCHOOL

2^ND MONDAY      6:00pm      SHARI             ALTERNATE (OPEN)

4^TH MONDAY      6:00pm      ANGELA          ALTERNATE (OPEN)

 
WESTOVER JOB CORPS

TUESDAY            6:30pm      NICK                           CURTIS

 
WORTHINGTON STREET SHELTER – WOMANS

2^ND&4^TH WEDS    7:00pm      MARY            ALTERNATE (OPEN)