Community Resource-Alcoholics Anonymous

Community Resource-Alcoholics Anonymous

Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is generally defined as a global group or organization of recovering alcoholics with the aim of helping themselves abstain from alcohol. In this paper, the AA initiative is assessed in the context of Indianapolis, Indiana, and what role it plays in the community. I’ll attend an online AA meeting, AA Home Group, to discover what transpires in the meetings and how they are opened and adjourned. In this case, all attendees have experience dealing with the issue of alcoholism, and the host advises everyone to be discreet with what is discussed in the meeting. The success of the meeting is determined by the abilities, strengths, and resources of the group to meet the needs of the community. Besides, Stanhope & Lancaster’s (2014) quality healthcare framework entailing effectiveness, safety, client-centered, equitability, and efficiency are used to determine if the meeting is a success or not.

Alcoholics Anonymous Information

Alcoholics Anonymous is a global initiative that entails recovering alcoholics and provides emotional support via self-help groups and a framework of abstinence for persons recovering from dependence on alcohol (Ferri, Amato & Davoli, 2009). In Indianapolis, Indiana, people in AA groups joined because they had given up trying to control their drinking. Most people hated to admit that they could never drink safely until the other members of AA told them that they were sick (Indianapolis Intergroup, 2021). The AA groups in Indiana encompass groups of people suffering from being alcoholics and having similar feelings of loneliness, guilt, and hopelessness as a result of alcoholism disease. There are numerous AA meeting locations in Indianapolis, Indiana. Some of these include Club East in Indianapolis East, Carvel Club in Indianapolis North, Suburban North Club in Noblesville, Trinity United Methodist Church in Shelbyville, Brown County Public Library in South Nashville, Greenwood United Methodist Church in Greenwood, and in many other churches and clubs across the country. Most meetings are held on Fridays in the morning from 6.30 am, while others at noontime and the majority in the afternoon and evenings up to 8 pm. Others are held past 8 p.m. up to midnight (Indianapolis Intergroup, 2021). In addition, there are meetings that are held anytime during the day and night, and anybody can join at their convenience. Some AA meetings are held online. While some online meetings are open to everyone, others are not. For instance, the AA Home Group meeting is held every day for 24 hours, and anybody can attend the meeting. Other meetings are held on Sundays from 7 am while others in the evening at 7 pm. For instance, the AA meeting held at Winner’s Circle in Noblesville starts at 7 a.m. and is open to everyone. Some meetings are closed, such as the HMS meeting in Indianapolis West, Agnostics and All held online, the 164 @ 125 meeting in Indianapolis Midtown, Fishers 12 & 12 in Fishers and Outstretched Hand meeting in Noblesville. However, most meetings have scheduled their specific days of meetings throughout the week.

Purpose of Alcoholics Anonymous

An AA group, as it pertains to Indianapolis, is created to help people who suffer from the disease of alcoholism. The group offers people free will to express themselves and does not restrict anyone. No one tells anybody what to do; rather, they have created a platform where people talk about their drinking, the troubles they face, and how they stopped and, at the same time, open the platform for those who want to stop. Since the group gives everyone free will, it does not force anyone into their meetings. However, they do share the hope of getting better by stopping because they believe that continuance in drinking only leads to worse situations, such as death or confinement in an institution. Therefore, the choice is pretty much on the seeker. The ultimate goal of the meetings is to help people stop drinking.

Meeting Details

The meeting starts with the host welcoming everyone. For the new attendees, the host lets them know that they can send a private message with their name and location first. The AA online meeting in Indianapolis is rather casual and free, allowing everyone to share their experiences as guided by the host and about five cohosts. The meeting is more casual, allowing attendees to express themselves even emotionally. The host encourages even the attendees who have been sober for one day and acknowledges all the attendees who have been sober and the number of days they have been sober. This is to encourage them to continue with abstinence from alcohol. The attendees share the number of days they have been sober on the chatbox. The host or the cohosts congratulate them and encourage them to congratulate themselves. In the AA Home Group meetings, newcomers are allowed to attend the meeting from all over the world. The meeting runs up to 62 minutes and gives every attendee time to share their experiences. In summary, the host and cohosts make all attendees feel at home, and they even consider themselves family. The host advises all the attendees to keep the information shared in the meeting within the meeting. The meeting is continuous, but the host allows the attendees to leave at their convenience but encourages them to join the meeting again.

Evaluation of Meeting

According to Stanhope & Lancaster (2014), groups may form in response to opportunities, problems, or community needs to provide psychological support or for purposes of socialization. In this case, AA meetings are formed in Indianapolis for the social and psychological purpose of helping people improve their health and well-being. One way to determine the success of an AA group meeting is through analyzing a composite database. This entails analysis and synthesis of themes, identification of problems, needs, strengths, and abilities of the group, and availability of resources to meet people’s needs (Stanhope & Lancaster, 2014). In this case, any milestone, however small it is, is celebrated in the meeting, which helps in identifying the strengths and weaknesses of an individual, which will allow the group to help the individual through referrals of phone calls. The host gives the attendees their numbers to reach out and gives them the opportunity to speak freely and be themselves. In this scenario, the abilities and needs of the people are easily identified and addressed. Additionally, quality health care refers to care that is effective, safe, client-centered, equitable, and efficient (Stanhope & Lancaster, 2014).

In conclusion, the AA meetings in Indianapolis target only people who suffer from the disease of alcoholism and give them a platform that makes attendees feel at home. The meeting does not have delays between the host and the attendee in the interchangeable speaking. Moreover, the opinions, values, needs, and preferences of the people are valued and respected in the meeting. The meeting allows everyone to attend regardless of their ethnic background, race, gender, and socioeconomic status. Besides, at the end of the meeting, the attendees are able to reach the contact shared for help and referrals. Also, in a meeting, several attendees acknowledge the importance of the meeting and how it has helped them in their journey to sobriety. This means that many of them have benefited from the meetings, and that is why they attend the meetings often. In the meeting I attended, one attendee said that they could not be sober without the help of the meeting.

References

Ferri, M., Amato, L., & Davoli, M. (2009). Alcoholics Anonymous and other 12‐step programs for alcohol dependence. Cochrane database of systematic reviews, (3).

Indianapolis Intergroup (2021). Alcoholics Anonymous. Retrieved 14/5/2021 from https://indyaa.org/about_us/

Stanhope, M. & Lancaster, J. (2014). Foundations of Nursing in the Community: Community-Oriented Practice, Fourth Edition. Missouri: Elsevier Mosby.

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Community Resource Paper Directions and Rubric

Due: Week 11 Monday 1 pm Eastern Standard Time

This is an APA-formatted research paper about Alcoholics Anonymous and Alcoholics Anonymous meetings in your community.

Research paper Directions

For this paper, you will use the internet to provide resources for people in your community who may need the services of Alcoholics Anonymous.

Community Resource-Alcoholics Anonymous

You must use the Community Resource Paper template. The template is a Word document.
Fill in the content listed under each of the headings using Times New Roman font 12 and double space.
Your narrative font is not bolded. Only the headings are bolded.
Include citations in your narrative and references for your citations.
Save your paper as a Word document, NOT a PDF.
Upload and submit your Community Resource paper to the week 9 Canvas drop box.
Your paper will not be accepted via email and attachments.
You may also need to contact someone in Alcoholics Anonymous in your community to further your research by way of a phone call or email. You are NOT to go to a meeting.

Your research paper will consist of the following.

Abstract

The abstract is a brief one-paragraph as to what the reader will read in your paper.

Alcoholics Anonymous Information

This section briefly discusses Alcoholics Anonymous that pertains to your community.

This would be general information. What is Alcoholics Anonymous? Where are the Alcoholics Anonymous meeting locations in your community? (Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, some meetings may be held online). How often are the meetings? How long are the meetings? Are the meetings open to the public, or are they closed meetings?