What should I expect at a meeting?
Currently, our only meeting is on Mondays at 7:00 AM. It runs until 8:00 AM and we spend our time reading from our literature and sharing about our efforts to overcome our addictions.
SA is different from other therapeutic or church-based groups as it does not have a person who directs the sharing and we avoid “cross-talk,” which for our group means extensively commenting on another person’s share or giving advice. In other words, we come and share, without feeling like we are being judged, analyzed, or lectured to. Usually after sharing, the most extensive feedback you will get will be “Thank you for sharing.” That doesn’t mean there is never a place within the fellowship of SA to have deeper conversations, to ask another person to share their experience, or to give feedback, but that doesn’t take place in the meeting itself. Some of us have these conversations after the meeting or by phone during the week.
How much does it cost?
Following the 7th tradition of Alcoholics Anonymous, we are self-supporting as a group and there are no dues or fees. In other words, no one is required to give money to the group. In fact, for those who attend for the first time, we don’t let them donate even if they want to because “The first one is on us!” The money that people do choose to give allows us to pay rent on our meeting space and purchase necessary materials.
Is it confidential?
We seek to maintain anonymity in our meetings. We do not share details about our lives that are not relevant to our recovery and usually just identify ourselves by first name. Something we read every meeting is, “This is an anonymous program. Please keep the name, address, and phone number of anyone you meet or hear about in SA to yourself. And what we say here, let it stay here when we leave here.” While none of us can guarantee that others who attend will adhere to these principles, decades of success of SA and other 12 step fellowships shows that the principle of anonymity tends to be well-respected.