which may sometimes have hundreds of members, at which several will tell their personal stories and experiences, 2) After the meeting there is a social period where there is more social contact and intimacy, 3) There are social gatherings where convivial and personal relationships are possible, and 4) There is a system of sponsorship, where the sponsors carry out the message to others. Included in this is a neophyte, which is called the baby, a person who is a newcomer. The sponsor introduces the person to the organization, encourages him, answers his doubts and is always there for the neophyte. In A.A. the newcomer is taught that alcoholism is an obsession of the mind, and that they should in time accept the disease concept of alcohol. They are advised to live twenty four hours at a time (the 24-hour plan) without a drink, and if they then feel the urge for a drink, they neither yield nor resist, they merely put off taking that particular drink until tomorrow. There are different types of meetings, there are open meetings and closed meetings. In open meetings spouses, relatives, friends, alcoholics, non-alcoholics etc. are all welcome, and closed meetings are restricted to alcoholics only. The meetings can have speakers or discussions. Meetings with speakers usually have one to three speakers who tell their experiences and what their life is like now in their sobriety. A discussion meeting is smaller than a meeting with speakers and there is usually a facilitator. Alcoholics Anonymous can be found in almost every town across the United States. Alcoholism is one of the major health problems in America and more and more men and women are estimated to suffer from this illness. In order to help decrease this increase of people suffering from alcoholism, Alcoholics Anonymous continues and increases in helping others recover.The meeting I attended was in Hicksville. It was held inside of a basement of a Catholic School (Our Lad...
