SAFETY CARD FOR A.A. GROUPS
Please visit: https://www.aa.org/safety-card-aa-groups
Newcomers International Group of AA
The Newcomers International group of AA has, in accordance with AA Guidelines, created suggestions for helping the group foster a safe and welcoming environment that will allow us to fulfill our primary purpose stated in Tradition 5: To carry its message to the alcoholic who still suffers, and to uphold Tradition 1: That our common welfare should come first; personal recovery depends upon AA unity. When this unity is threatened, the group suffers and could die, and thus is not available to the individual.
Newcomers International Group Safety Statement
The group has appointed a Safety Committee to handle issues as they come up and make decisions based on AA Traditions, AA Group Guidelines and AA Guidelines for Safety and Personal Conduct. Links to this AA documentations are provided below.
If you want to report any SAFETY ISSUE related to Newcomers International Group please send us an email at: Safety@newcomersinternational.com
Please review the following AA Literature and Guidelines to learn more:
- Safety and AA: Our Common Welfare.
https://www.aa.org/safety-and-aa-our-common-welfare
A.A.’s 1st Tradition states in its long form, “Each member of Alcoholics Anonymous is but a small part of a great whole. A.A. must continue to live or most of us will surely die. Hence our common welfare comes first. But individual welfare follows close afterward.”
It is hoped that our common suffering as alcoholics and our common solution in A.A. will transcend most issues and curtail negative behaviors that could jeopardize the safety of anyone attending an A.A. meeting. Nevertheless, Alcoholics Anonymous is a microcosm of the larger society we exist in.
As such, problems found in the outside world can also make their way into the rooms of A.A. For this reason, groups and members discuss the topic of safety — to raise awareness in the Fellowship and to seek through sponsorship, workshops, and meetings, to create as safe an environment as possible to carry A.A.’s message of hope and recovery to the still-suffering alcoholic.
- GUIDELINES for A.A. in Great Britain
Behavioral Issues…
Bullying, harassment and offensive behavior are negative and unacceptable forms of discrimination that are in conflict with the AA Traditions and our way of life in recovery. Any such behavior needs to be taken seriously, and sober AA members must deal with it as it arises. Whether or not the behavior is intended to be hurtful is irrelevant, the important point is that it is offensive. AA members, within their Groups, need to recognize the power of their behavior in their relationships with other members of the Fellowship and with potential newcomers. Members in recovery will understand that the behavior we choose to adopt influences others. Recognizing that we can control our behavior, we have a responsibility to set a good example.
Members have a right to expect that they will be reasonably safe at a Group meeting. It is the responsibility of the Group holding the meeting, through its members and leaders, to ensure that no member or visitor is subjected to or experiences bullying, harassment or offensive behavior of any kind.
3. Publications for Further Information
a. Safety and AA: Our Common Welfare
https://www.aa.org/safety-and-aa-our-common-welfare
b. Pamphlet “Violence and Personal Conduct” which includes discussion about bullying
http://www.alcoholics-anonymous.org.uk/download/1/Library/Documents/Literature%20Downloads/3386%20Violence%20and%20Personal%20Conduct.pdf
c. Disruptive Members at AA Meetings
AA Newsletter Box 450 Fall 20210 page 4 https://www.aa.org/sites/default/files/newsletters/en_box459_fall10.pdf
d. Guidelines for A.A. in Great Britain – Safeguarding and Personal Conduct
https://www.alcoholics-anonymous.org.uk/Safeguarding
e. Bullying and Harassment https://aagb.silverink.ie/download/1/Library/Documents/Safeguarding/bullied%20Harassed.pdf