Are You New To Al-Anon?
Welcome! This program is an important source of help for anyone affected by someone else’s drinking. Each Al-Anon Family Group is made up of family members and friends of alcoholics who share their experience, strength, and hope with each other along this shared path of recovery. Many of us have reacted in self-defeating ways to the disease of alcoholism; but in Al-Anon, we learn that, by changing our own attitudes, we can find serenity and a satisfying way of life.
Marin County has three meetings specifically for those who are new to Al-Anon and for beginners in the program, and you can attend these meetings as many times as you like. This is where you can ask questions and receive answers from long-time members.
You are welcome to attend ANY meeting.
Meetings are always open to anyone who is affected by someone else’s drinking. There are speaker meetings, topic meetings, and legacy or literature study groups. In addition to women’s meetings and men’s meetings, there are other affiliate or ally spaces. Throughout the San Francisco Bay Area, you can find meetings for people of color, for those whose first language is Spanish, and for the LGBTQ+ community, among others. Some meetings focus on our shared experiences in relation to alcoholics. For example, there are meetings for parents of alcoholics and adult children of alcoholics. Some meetings are “open,” meaning that observers from professional programs are welcome; others are “closed,” meaning that professionals are asked not to attend.
If you are unsure about Al-Anon, we invite you to attend a meeting anyway. You may also find the following resources to be helpful.
We encourage you to attend at least six different meetings to see if Al-Anon is right for you. Each meeting is unique, with its own flavor and energy. Find the meetings where you feel most comfortable, and attend those regularly. Talk to Al-Anon members before and after each meeting, make program calls to those who provide their names and phone numbers at these meetings, and feel free to share with these Al-Anon members the difficulties you are experiencing. Your anonymity is protected at all times.
For many of us, Al-Anon is the safe place — the right place — to be. If you find help and hope by attending Al-Anon meetings, you belong here.