June 10th is the day Alcoholics Anonymous was founded in 1935 in Akron, Ohio. According to a write-up from Ashley Treatment, “a fateful meeting between Bill Wilson (Bill W.), a stockbroker from New York, and Robert Smith (Dr. Bob), a surgeon from Ohio, and their mutual quest for sobriety ended up paving the way for a worldwide movement.”
Every June, many people gather at The University of Akron for a variety of panels, meetings, and discussions celebrating the organization’s foundation. In honor of Founder’s Day, we’ve compiled some facts and information for you. If you or someone you know is struggling with alcoholism, consider looking up a local AA meeting in your community. It could be a saving grace that allows you/them to take the reins on life back.
A.A statistics according to Oak Forest Recovery:
- 79% of members have a sponsor or a fellow member who provides individual support.
- 67 % of people who attended at least 27 weeks of AA meetings during their first year of treatment remained abstinent at the 16-year follow-up.
- 74% of members reported that AA was essential to their recovery.
AA Facts
- The alcoholics anonymous (AA) 12-step recovery program is a free treatment program for people suffering from alcohol abuse and addiction.
- AA welcomes people of all faiths, even atheists and agnostics, even though the program takes a spiritual approach to treatment. It is not affiliated with any religious or political group.
- AA program participants follow a set of recovery steps to achieve and maintain abstinence from alcohol.
- Meetings are often held in public spaces such as churches or schools. Some meetings are open to anyone who wants to attend, while others are only for alcoholics or prospective AA members.
- The only requirement to join AA is a desire to stop drinking.
What are the 12 steps?
According to the Australian AA webpage, the 12 steps are as follows:
- We admitted we were powerless over alcohol—that our lives had become unmanageable.
- We came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
- We made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.
- We made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
- We admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
- We were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.
- We humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.
- We made a list of all the persons we had harmed and became willing to make amends to them all.
- We made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when doing so would injure them or others.
- We continued to take personal inventory and, when we were wrong, promptly admitted it.
- Through prayer and meditation, we sought to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.
- Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics and to practice these principles in all our affairs.
A.A. has been pivotal in many individuals’ achieving sobriety. As mentioned at the beginning, if you or someone you know needs assistance, consider finding a meeting in your community.
Featured image via Justin Groep on Unsplash
