The material presented
here is not Al-Anon Conference Approved Literature. It is a method
to exchange
information, ideas, feelings, problems and solutions on a personal
level.
Hello, John sent me an email this morning and I decided to take him up on the offer. I have been in Al-Anon for about 23 years. I have held many service positions. Right now I am the District Rep. for my district. I was the DR. ten years ago, when there was a lot of people in the program and a lot more meetings, . I know that I can not make people do what they do not want to do, . I was wondering, , if anyone can give me some ideas,, that might attact people to the meetings and different activities that we plan. We send out flyers and talk up the different activities, but it seems useless. Thanks for the help. Cad
Cad, There are several things we do in our Group, always remembering Tradition #11. "Our public relation policy is based on attraction rather than promotion". With that in mine, we list in the local newspaper along with other groups at no cost. We order 50 extra Forums each month from Al-Anon and have a tab on the back of each one with our address meeting times and also a contact persons phone number on it. Different members take these Forums around to Doctors,Denist etc. offices. We have a web site with all our information, including a map of tour location. You did not ask this, but when a newcomer comes into our meetings one of the Members will go up to them and welcome them to the group, tell them how happy we are that they came. Then the same Member will explain a little about the format of our meeting. We do this to make them feel at home, and it seems to work. If any of the things we do just helps one person it has been worth it. Knowing number of lives just one A effects, sometimes I wonder why we don't have standing room only, with a line outside waiting to get in. RLC
RLC has some good suggestions. I may try a couple at our meetings too.
One thing I have found recently at what was my home group meeting is that we had one oldtimer that liked to run things and our group kind of got stalled. She would not support a group conscience. Some of us started a new group and it is small, but very vibrant. We are now doing outreach to drs and law enforcement, etc. Hoping it will bring in some more people.
I would suggest taking a group inventory. That might point out any weak spots that are discouraging newcomers or even oldtimers.
Stick to CAL. Recovery can really get distracted by outside influences.
Look at the format of the meeting. Is it serving everyones purpose? There are lots of types of meetings (speaker, newcomer, topic, stepwork, etc). Maybe change the format or mix it up once a month. A couple of meetings I in the town next to mine have speakers once a month or every three months. They are usually semi-local speakers that don't cost.
There is some good outreach stuff available online at the member website. We just printed out some of the Open Letters to use with info packets to clergy and counseling services, etc.
Anyway, theres some ideas. Hope it helps.
In recovery,
__________________
~Jen~
"When you come to the edge of all you know you must believe in one of two things... there will be earth on which to stand or you will be given wings." ~Unknown
The lack of this and bringing kids to the meetings,keeps many away. Many of us do not feel comfortable sharing with kids in the meeting. Plus they are distracting.
Being a mom,gma, it is easy to watch them because they are so cute and fun,and lose why I am there! love,debilyn
one of my favorite meetings offered tea and some nuts as a snack. It created a pleasant atmosphere. it was one of those meetings after work and usually everyone arrived kinda hungry. Tea does not require the clean-up that coffee does and does not keep you up at night! Just an idea- a more "home-like" atmosphere helps too- set up a table so people can kind of pull up to it and sort of hide behind it. When its just chairs in a circle it feels less rooted. J.
Yes, I too received an email from John today. I registered about 6 months ago but did not come here much.
The same reason I have not been to Al anon meetings.
I work in my community as a health related professional and facilitate another kind of group. I would not like to bump into any of my clients. I dont think I could be that frank in front of them.
I am trying to understand my hubby's drinking problem and trying to get him out of this "drowning" situation he is in. I am reading how best to help him and encourage him to get a physician that specializes in alcoholism. His deteriorating health has been a great motivator for him at least we are talking about his problem drinking now. He says he drinks to reduce his anxiety and stress, which have been astronomical this past 20 years.
I am quite a strong person with lots of other interests in my life so I dont feel totally at a loss. My Health both mentally and physical is excellent and I feel very blessed to have this inner strength. Just have the shyness about the drinking problem.
I will continue reading and learning from you all. I would be very grateful for any suggestions or advice, much appreciated.
John sent me an email this morning and I decided to take him up on the offer. I have been in Al-Anon for about 23 years. I have held many service positions. Right now I am the District Rep. for my district. I was the DR. ten years ago, when there was a lot of people in the program and a lot more meetings,
. I know that I can not make people do what they do not want to
. I was wondering, 
, if anyone can give me some ideas,
, that might attact people to the meetings and different activities that we plan. We send out flyers and talk up the different activities, but it seems useless. Thanks for the help. Cad
