If you think you may have a drinking problem and want to connect with Alcoholics Anonymous, use the links on the right for "Finding help quickly."  The Alcoholics Anonymous link will take you to the AA World Services website, and from there you can find AA meetings and contacts everywhere AA is found.  If you are in the SENY area (NYC, Long Island, Westchester, Putnam, Orange, Rockland or Sullivan county), use the Intergroup/Central Offices link.  The Online Intergroup of AA link will take you to listings of online, e-mail and audio meetings.

Do you wonder about your drinking?

Only you can decide if your drinking has become a problem.  The pamphlet Is AA for You? offers twelve simple questions which have helped many of us to make up our own minds. It is found on the AAWS/GSO web site, where you can also find several other AA publications with information on and insight into the AA program and Fellowship.

Below, we offer some information about AA meetings and how to find your way to a meeting or to speak with AA members.

About AA Meetings

If you come to a meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous, we will be happy to share with you what we have learned about our drinking and show you how we have solved our common problem and recovered from alcoholism.

No one will pressure you to join us, and your visit will be kept confidential. Although there are no dues or fees for attending an AA meeting or joining an AA group, AA groups are fully self-supporting and "pass the hat" among group members to cover meeting expenses. Most groups make AA pamphlets available without charge and sell other AA publications at modest prices. Local AA meeting schedules are usually also available to the newcomer without cost.

In broad terms, there are two types of AA meetings: "closed" and "open." Attendance at closed meetings of Alcoholics Anonymous is limited to AA members and to other persons concerned about their own drinking. They tend to be more interactive than most open meetings. The general public is welcome to observe open meetings of Alcoholics Anonymous to gain a better understanding of the AA program of recovery from alcoholism. These are often "speaker" meetings, where members share "in a general way what we used to be like, what happened, and what we are like now." (Alcoholics Anonymous, page 58.) Family members and friends of problem drinkers, as well as anyone whose profession regularly brings them into contact with problem drinkers, are especially encouraged to attend open meetings. (Friends and family members of problem drinkers may also wish to contact the Al-Anon Family Groups, which offers mutual support and encouragement to those affected by someone else's drinking.)

If you think AA might be for you but you are a little bit shy about coming to a closed meeting, an open meeting might be a good way to check us out.

Finding AA Meetings or Getting to Speak with AA Members

You can find the local AA hotline number in your phone book or through directory assistance under the listing "Alcoholics Anonymous." This will put you in touch with a local Intergroup/Central Office or Answer Service, AA groups that can provide up-to-date information on local AA meetings and connect you with individual AA members. The person handling your call will usually be able to tell you when and where you can find an open or closed AA meeting, or will be able to put you in touch with someone who can. Many Intergroup/Central Offices also have meeting information online.

For more specific information on finding AA meetings in SENY (the City of New York, Long Island, and the lower upstate New York counties of Westchester, Putnam, Rockland, Orange and Sullivan), follow the link to our listing of Intergroup/Central Offices. There you will also find information about "telephone meetings," meetings which gather exclusively over the telephone at pre-arranged times in a conference call format. Additional information on finding AA help in other parts of the US, Canada and worldwide may be found on the AAWS website.