Information on this page was aquired from the pamphlet above and also from the Area 31 Handbook.  See both of these for more information or you may attend a Public Information Meeting in your Area.

THE WESTERN MASS AREA 31 PUBLIC INFORMATION COMMITTEE

"Passing the AA Message in
Your Community"

Public Information Committee meets on the 2nd Tuesday at 7:00pm at the grace United Church on
474 Pleasant Street, In Holyoke.
Directions are located on the Contact Us page of this site. P.I. meets in the same hall as the Area Committee.

Question on Public Information? E-Mail them to:
area31comm@gmail.com

Public Information committee liaison:

Group Public Information representatives usually work with the local Intergroup (central office), district or area P.I. committee to carry the A.A. message locally. They periodically inform their home groups of local activity and may arrange for group volunteers to participate in P.I. programs requested by schools, businesses, law-enforcement agencies and other organizations interested in the A.A. approach to recovery from alcoholism. Most groups realize that alcoholics can’t come to A.A. for help unless they know where we are. Using many suggested methods ranging from personal contact to public service announcements on radio and TV, groups and their members reach out, working within the framework of Tradition Eleven. Sometimes a small sign saying “A.A. meeting tonight” outside the meeting place door points the way. And from A.A.’s earliest days, radio announcements and small newspaper Announcements of A.A. meetings have been used to attract newcomers. The Public Information Workbook offers suggested guidelines in furthering this vital group service activity.

This committee works closely with AA volunteers to instruct them how to effectively carry the message to the general public. Using the AA guidelines on P.I., and training gained from attending monthly P.I. meetings, the AA member may then be scheduled to speak to the public. This includes schools/students, senior citizens, church groups, alcohol education programs, parent groups, health fairs, radio shows, Boy/Girl Scout troops, DWI schools, or anywhere we asked to come to explain what AA is, does, and don’t do. The P.I. Committee also helps provide literature and pamphlets to libraries and visitors’ centers and public service announcements to local TV and radio stations. The Area Delegate appoints the chair and co-chair of this committee.

The History of Alcoholics Anonymous is studded with the names of nonalcoholic professionals and others, who have interested themselves in the AA recovery program. Thousands of us owe our lives to these people, and our debt of gratitude knows no bounds.

AA and Alcoholism: Alcoholics Anonymous is a worldwide fellowship of men and women who help each other maintain sobriety and who offer to share their recovery experience freely with others who may have a drinking problem. The program AA suggests consists basically of 12 Steps designed for personal recovery from alcoholism. The Fellowship today is in approximately 150 countries. Several hundred thousand alcoholics have achieved sobriety in AA, but members recognize that their program is not always effective with all alcoholics and that some may require professional counseling or treatment.

AA is concerned solely with the personal recovery and continued sobriety of individual alcoholics who turn to the fellowship for help. The movement does not engage in alcoholism research or medical or psychiatric treatment, and does not endorse any causes—although
AA members may participate as individuals. The movement has adopted a policy of “Cooperation but not Affiliation” with other organizations concerned with the problem of alcoholism.

AA can be described as a method of treating alcoholism in which the members are supportive of each other, sharing with each other a large body of similar experiences in suffering and recovering from alcoholism.

Where can you find AA?: Many local AA service committees will, upon request, provide informational presentations for your organizations. Sessions can be tailored to meet your needs. A typical agenda might include one or several AA films and a presentation by one or more AA members on “What AA Is and What It Is Not.” Look for Alcoholics Anonymous in your local phone book, or attend a meeting of the Public Information Committee at the time and location at the bottom of this page.

Are you an alcoholic who is interested in the Public Information Committee?

An AA group makes its own decisions regarding the desirability of supplying AA speakers for such meetings in general, or foe any particular meeting. Sometimes, the inviting organization indicates that its interest is primarily in alcoholism, rather than AA as such. A group may wish to refer such requests to one of the state—supported or private agencies concerned with broader aspects of alcoholism. However, it is entirely in keeping with the AA Traditions for an AA member to speak at non-AA meetings about AA and our recovery program if a few simple precautions are observed. Groups in many areas consider this type of speaking to be one of the cornerstones of a constructive AA public information program.  They believe that it provides an excellent opportunity to demonstrate our willingness to be “friendly with our friends,” to inform the public concerning the role of AA in the community, and all of the above, to carry the message of our recovery to alcoholics through a third person.  A large proportion of today’s newcomers are making their first approach to AA at the suggestion of a non-alcoholic well-wisher—a doctor—member of the clergy—lawyer—social worker—employer—union rep—relative, or friend to whom AA has become favorably known.

Who is qualified?

In seeking to carry the message through a third person by speaking at non-A.A. meetings, A.A. members therefore assume a serious responsibility. Even though they are careful to explain that they not speaking for A.A. as a whole, many members of the audience will have their good or bad opinion of the Fellowship on what is said and how it is said. The reactions of nonalcoholic listeners and their consequent referring or failure to refer to A.A. may someday mean the difference between life or death to still-suffering alcoholics.  Profound as these considerations are, they do not imply that responsibility should be restricted to A.A.’s trained as professional speakers or to “elder statesmen and –women.” An A.A. member who has been sober for a sufficient length of time to discuss our recovery program – the Steps, Traditions, and service – intelligently, should be capable of a good job.

What to talk about?

In talking to non-A.A. groups, A.A. members can draw upon a wealth of iinformation from their own experience, what they learned from the experience of others, and various pamphlets and other literature available from the General Service Office. Their problem is one of selection. Some pamphlets and material recommended as a primary source of information are:

“44 Questions”
“A.A. in Your Community”
“A.A. Membership Survey”
“Understanding Anonymity”
“ If You Are a Professional”
“A Brief Guide to A.A.”
“How A.A. Members Cooperate”
“A.A. Fact File”
“A Member’s-Eye View of Alcoholics Anonymous”
“Information on Alcoholics Anonymous”

You may also obtain from G.S.O. Guidelines on the following subjects:

Public Information; Treatment Facilities Committees; Correctional Facilities Committees; and Cooperating with Court, A.S.A.P., and Similar Programs.

For A.A. Members Employed in the Alcoholism Field and Cooperation With the Professional Community one question frequently asked is: “Should I tell my story?” Those who have had experience in speaking to nonalcoholic audiences have learned that the average personwants to know what Alcoholics Anonymous is, what it does, and what he or she can do to cooperate, rather than to hear the personal-history type of talk that a member may give at an A.A. meeting.

On the other hand, experienced speakers have found that it is helpful to relate incidents from their own drinking history to illustrate a point. Citing the progressive nature of alcoholism or summarizing your case history can lend conviction to the rest of your talk.

Starting on page 15 of this pamphlet, you will find a list of questions that are usually asked by non-A.A. audiences. These are based on the results of a survey made by your General Service Office among groups and individuals in different parts of the United States and other countries.  The number of questions you cover will depend on the speaking time you are allotted and whether there will be a question-and-answer period after your talk.

The topics which you will select for discussion may also depend, to some degree, on the particular audience you are addressing. For example, you may wish to lay more stress on certain points in talking to an audience of doctors or members of the clergy than you would to a group of high school students.  Here are some suggestions concerning what you should know about your audience.

General Information 

        1.       What is their occupation?

   2.       If they are members of an organization, what does it do? What  
    does it stand for?

   3.       Why is the organization holding a meeting?

Specific information

1.       What are the organization’s primary interests at present?

2.       What are its distinctive characteristics?

3.       On what do its members pride themselves?

4.       Why was A.A. invited to talk?

Let’s keep our amateur standing

In talking to non-A.A. groups, A.A. members are careful to preserve their amateur standing. They do not claim to be experts on the medical, physiological, or psychological aspects of alcoholism. Yet some questions about alcoholism, as distinct from A.A., are invariably asked at these meetings. As a practical matter, A.A. speakers try to give answers which will be intelligent and, without being dogmatic, will satisfy the curiosity of the nonalcoholic . It is for this reason that some questions and suggested answers about “alcoholism” and “alcoholics” are included in this pamphlet.

Talking to specialized groups

When you have occasion to speak before certain very specialized groups (lawyers, law-enforcement officials, industrial groups, doctors – to name a few), you may wish to refer to pamphlets specifically designed for such audiences. For example: members of the clergy – “Members of the Clergy Ask About A.A.”; doctors – “A.A. as a Resource for the Health Care Profession.”

You may suggest that these pamphlets be sent for, or take a supply to the meeting. Added to both categories above should be “A.A. in Your Community” (how the Fellowship is geared to work in the community to help alcoholics), “A.A. Membership Survey” (summarizing results of a U.S./Canada membership survey), and “If You Are a Professional.” Also, the flyer “A.A. at a Glance” is available free of charge for distribution at such gatherings.

A brief outline for a talk

     Introduction

Identification as an alcoholic (first name only, usually); request that anonymity be respected, giving reasons – Traditions, etc. A card with the following brief statement on anonymity can be obtained from G.S.O.:

There may be some here who are not familiar with our Tradition of personal anonymity at the public level:

“Our public relations policy is based on attraction rather than promotion; we need always maintain personal anonymity at the level of press, radio, [TV,] and films.” Thus we espectfully ask that no A.A. speaker – or, indeed, any A.A. member – be identified by full name in published or broadcast reports of our meetings. The assurance of anonymity is essential in our effort to help problem drinkers who may wish to share our recovery
program with us. And our Tradition of anonymity reminds us that A.A. that principles come before personalities. You may even wish to distribute these cards to the audience.

              Alcoholics Anonymous

o   What A.A. is (Preamble – on the inside front cover of this pamphlet)

o   Twelve Steps (how they worked for us)

o   Twelve Traditions

o   Explain Open and Closed Meeting formats
 

Personal Experience
 
o   Why you decided to seek help

  o   What you found in A.A. that helped you

     How can we work together

o   How to contact A.A.

  o   What we can do (see pamphlet “How A.A. Members 
    Cooperate”)

  o   What we can’t do (see “A.A. in Your Community” 
    and “Problems Other Than Alcohol”)

  o   Why knowledge about alcoholism and A.A. is important