SUFFOLK INTERGROUP ASSOCIATION OF ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS
113-8 Bay Avenue Patchogue, NY 11772
(631) 654-1150 FAX (631) 654-1110
Mail: P.O. Box 659 Patchogue, NY 11772 email: WWW.SUFFOLKNY-AA.ORG
NOVEMBER 2004 VOLUME 31; ISSUE 7
A long time member responds to last month's report on the failing health of the Suffolk Intergroup Hot-Line:
I was at a group last night and happened to walk in on their business meeting. Being the shy, quiet guy that I am, I raised my hand and gave the telephone Hot-line a commercial break and mentioned the fact that we were considering a paid answering service. The chairman, a man of about 18 or so years sober, made a comment that, "We were very fortunate to have had so many volunteers for so long that we were able to (keep the Hot-Line going for 30 years)." It didn't seem to be a concern to anyone that the Hot-line may be changing or going away all together.
Then I got to thinking...When I got here AA was not what you would call a 'household name' and meetings were few and far between. I called the Hot-line at about 5:00, my phone was ringing with a 12th Stepper by 5:15 and by 6:00 they were at the house to cart my sorry ass away to a meeting. I guess I would have been called a 'high-bottom' drunk at the time. There were no rehabs, country clubs, or clinics or anything else other than CI or maybe South Oaks for folks like me to go to. It seemed you got to AA by 'invitation only'.
It seems that things have changed tremendously since then. The insurance companies have made recovery a money-making item and the rehabs have blossomed. Meetings started all over the place. AA was 'the' place to be. AA is a household word today. We now have TV commercials, radio ads, literature in libraries, hospitals, rehabs, shelters, schools, doctors' offices, police stations, the internet, and just about anywhere else that a drunk could possibly be. It seems that everyone has a meeting list (continued on page 2)
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