The Home Group

by Doug W.

“Home groups are so very important to Alcoholics Anonymous. This is where people begin. This is where the spark of service work is first ignited. This is where the A.A. member begins to learn about the how of Alcoholics Anonymous. By selecting a home group, the newcomer begins to feel like he belongs somewhere. He begins to know people and let people know him. He feels safe in this meeting because he knows everyone’s story and where they came from. It is the home group where the A.A. member takes the first tiny step into making the support system of Alcoholics Anonymous work. This may be by just putting one dollar into the basket every week and knowing where it is going or by washing coffee cups. Hence, by getting a home group, the A.A. member accepts the responsibility of participating in the whole system, thereby keeping the wheels of A.A. rolling.”

I got sober at the Rafters when it was just six months into its infancy. There were just a few tables and chairs and a mixture of coffee cups and ashtrays that people donated from home, as well as, a couple of couches for the half-measures room. This was my group, and this was my home. I can’t tell you how many cups and ashtrays I washed or how many times I cleaned the bathrooms. I wanted them to sparkle for that out-of-town speaker or the newcomer struggling up those stairs. Yes, this was my home.

For many years, I called the Rafters my home group. I graduated from washing coffee cups to making coffee to being the secretary of a meeting. I have been on the steering committee and was also chairperson of the group. As with any family, I fought with members and placed a lot of personalities before principles. Through it all, a number of those “family members” have stayed sober with me.

One day, I decided not to call Rafters my home anymore (they were not doing things the way I was used to), and I left. I started going to other meetings and even called a Saturday Women’s Meeting my home. It just wasn’t the same. I participated in the meetings but didn’t take any commitments, and sort of sat around the sidelines. My name tag at conventions always reads JUDY F – HOMELESS. It wasn’t until recently that I realized the importance of that home group and the pride people take when they call it home and really take care of it. I had that aw-ha moment when I realized I call Central Office my home. I take pride in how it looks and invite people all the time to come to have a cup of coffee with me and talk about recovery and A.A.

I was overwhelmed with a feeling of gratitude that, unbeknownst to me, God directed me “home.”

Reference: The Home Group: Heartbeat Of AA 30th Anniversary Edition From AA Grapevine 2023 on important decisions that affect Alcoholics Anonymous as a whole.