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Service
Update The review-and-input period for the Youth Informational Pamphlets project ended 31 May, and we’re happy to report that we’ve received 183 pieces of input from members in seven countries around the world. We’ve heard from members in New Zealand, New York, North Carolina, and Turkey. Area literature chairs, regional service committees, individual members, and youth groups have all held workshops and submitted input for these drafts. In addition, NAWS conducted a workshop in Florida and a bilingual workshop at the Youth Convention in Montreal, Canada. The workgroup has just met to review the fellowship input and is busy revising the drafts to be released in the Conference Agenda Report. We are excited to be taking these initial steps in making NA’s message more accessible to our growing membership of young addicts around the world.
Cooperation In an effort to further NA’s message of recovery, we are asked to cooperate with various professionals—addiction treatment specialists, drug-court judges, social workers, the clergy, and others. How do we effectively cooperate with professionals without compromising our traditions? Recently, we heard from some members regarding cooperation with drug courts. We are offering suggestions for working with drug courts for members who wish to welcome drug court-referred addicts to NA. Drug Courts Drug courts seem to represent a challenge to many groups and, at the same time, represent a public relations opportunity. Groups are often overwhelmed with the influx of addicts referred from the courts, and sometimes the courts send nonaddicts to meetings. Drug courts tend to follow a standard approach with their contracted treatment agencies. Clients in this form of treatment may be asked to participate in NA meetings for up to two years, obtain sponsors that the courts want to verify, submit step work to the courts, and have their sponsors testify in court. Obviously, there are some requests we just should not submit to, which has caused some members to wonder what the group, as an NA group, should do in response to these requests (which may feel like demands) from the drug courts. Each NA group’s primary purpose is to carry the message of recovery to the addict who suffers. As members, we are cautioned to refrain from judging anyone’s desire to stop using. Groups may want to discuss this with the area service committee to see whether the area can plan to manage this influx more effectively, for everyone’s benefit. With planning, the area would look at all issues and identify practical goals and approaches for the issue. Usually, a first step would be to meet with the referring agency to inform them about the NA program and listen to the agency’s concerns. Together, the agency and NA members can come up with solutions. One solution may be to have panel meetings at the drug courts for members; another solution may be to hold newcomer meetings for drug court-referred clients. Additional approaches an area may consider are outlined in Chapter Six of the Public Relations Handbook. One of the most common challenges for groups seems to be the signing of attendance cards. Groups that have decided to sign these cards do so in the spirit of service to the addicts attending the meeting. How groups handle these cards varies. Some groups call them “welcome slips” and ask that they be placed in the basket and picked up at the end of the meeting. Some groups use a stamp rather than having the group secretary sign the slip. For groups that want to participate in this service, additional ideas can be found in NAWS Bulletin #31 Meeting Attendance Cards, and the Public Relations Handbook, Chapter Six. Often, groups have to decide how to handle the signing of cards when someone drops their card in the basket, leaves the meeting, and then returns at the end of the meeting to collect their card. These groups (or area representatives) usually have met with the referring agency to inform the professionals that signed attendance cards are not verification of attending the entire meeting. Most drug courts are aware that mandated attendance at NA meetings does not mean compliance with the NA program of recovery. Open and consistent communication with drug courts helps us work through issues with the referred clients. Of course, each group is free to decide whether they want to sign attendance cards or not. We hope that groups will discuss the matter thoroughly and search their conscience before making a decision. As group members deliberate upon this issue, they may consider asking themselves, “What creates a welcoming atmosphere?” How do we know when an addict is ready to surrender to the NA program of recovery? Are we being guided by spiritual principles in the spirit of service? We might do well to remember that our literature says, “We are not interested in what or how much you used or who your connections were, what you have done in the past, how much or how little you have, but only in what you want to do about your problem and how we can help.” (Basic Text, Chapter Two) Would signing an attendance card be considered helping the addict? After thorough deliberation, a group’s conscience may be to not sign attendance cards. If that happens to be a group’s decision, please let your area service committee know. The phoneline committee can have the information available for addicts who contact them, and meeting lists or schedules may designate “no cards signed” at particular meetings. We understand that some members have strong feelings about the impact of requests placed on clients referred by drug courts, and this article is not meant to minimize those feelings. Rather, it is meant to provide possible solutions for groups that choose to cooperate with drug courts to help addicts, while recognizing that there may be challenges in working with drug courts. NA has no opinion on outside issues We continue to hear from professionals that, at some NA meetings, our members share their individual opinions regarding medication, and professionals perceive these opinions to be those of NA as a whole. Expressing our individual opinions affects our public image. It also affects addicts who are referred to our program of recovery as well as members who need to take prescribed medication once abstinence has been achieved. To effectively carry our message of recovery to all addicts, we want to embrace our Tenth Tradition and truly adhere to the principle that “NA has no opinion on outside issues.” Medication NA is a program of recovery with a fundamental principle of complete abstinence. In the course of daily living, some NA members are confronted with physical and mental health issues that may require medication. Other members interact with healthcare professionals on behalf of our fellowship, carrying the message of recovery. Unfortunately, both healthcare professionals and members who take prescribed medication often hear individual opinions from NA members about the use of medication, rather than the message of NA’s traditions —that NA, as an organization, has no opinion on outside issues, like the use of medications. In the booklet, In Times of Illness, members share their practical experience confronting surgery, chronic illness, and mental health issues. This booklet is a resource written to assist members who may need to take medication. When NA members share their individual opinions about the use of medication by recovering addicts, it tends to create a negative public image with professionals and detracts from our ability to effectively carry a message of recovery. When this happens, we lose credibility, and NA’s reputation is harmed. In the Public Relations Handbook, we clearly state that “trusted servants can educate NA members that it is inappropriate to interfere with medications that have been prescribed to members by healthcare providers.” (Chapter Eight) In our Basic Text, we further state that NA has “no staff psychiatrists, doctors, lawyers, or counselors. Our program works by one addict helping another. If we employed professionals [such as those qualified to express medical opinions about the use of specific medications] in NA groups, we would destroy our unity.” (Chapter Six) To more effectively carry our message of recovery, and to improve our credibility with professionals, we may want to accept a stance of neutrality. We can share our personal opinions in private with our sponsors, and maintain a loving and welcoming atmosphere of recovery in the relatively public meetings of our groups and in our contacts with professionals. When we refrain from expressing opinions, we strive to embody the principles of our steps and traditions, demonstrating that “Narcotics Anonymous has no opinion on outside issues; hence, the NA name ought never be drawn into public controversy.” (Tradition Ten) Imagine healthcare providers and professionals viewing NA as their first referral choice for addict patients. Imagine members who take prescription medication feeling welcomed and loved in meetings. In these ways, we truly would be helping addicts to recover from the disease of addiction and fulfilling our primary purpose. Drug Replacement Our Third Tradition says, “The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop using.” Ours is a program of complete abstinence; so, how do we effectively carry our message of recovery to those on drug-replacement medication and maintain credibility with the professionals who operate drug-replacement programs? We accept a posture of non-judgment, welcoming addicts to meetings as equals seeking recovery. Individual members can share about their recovery and freedom from active addiction, which will speak much more loudly to an addict participating in drug-replacement therapy than would judgment and condemnation. After all, our desire is to carry the message of recovery. Equally important, a non-judgmental attitude and an attractive message are more likely to lead professionals to view NA as a program of choice for their clients. How can we help our members understand the Tenth Tradition of neutrality on outside issues? How can we welcome and embrace addicts on drug-replacement medication? We can discuss the principles of our traditions in group business meetings, and we can participate in learning days. We can practice our individual program of recovery by offering love, support, and a non-judgmental attitude. And how can we uniformly present our program of recovery to professionals in a positive light? We can work together in unity to help realize our tradition that “NA has no opinion on outside issues.” These actions will help to further NA’s credibility, build goodwill among professionals, and help to ensure that no addict seeking recovery need die from the horrors of addiction. Many members work with drug courts and with professionals in other fields that serve addicts seeking recovery. What solutions have you found in your cooperative efforts with professional?. We would love to hear from you. Write to us at PR News; PO Box 9999; Van Nuys, CA USA 91409, by fax to Attn: PR News, 818.700.0700 or by email at naway@na.org.
The 32nd World
Convention
Our Message Hope,
San Antonio, Texas, USA Have you registered yet? Have you made your travel arrangements? Have you gone to www.na.org/wcna32/index.htm for updates? You will not want to miss out on this world convention. As NA World Services shifts into “world convention mode,” the Program Group has given us final recommendations for main speakers and is beginning to take a look at workshop speakers based on the pre-registration list. We are also beginning to develop workshop topics and finalize entertainment (including the Saturday concert), and we will have some of the very best merchandise yet! For your convenience, we have posted the approximate start and end times for events on the website. We hope this will help you plan your arrival and departure and, more importantly, help you figure out what times you can volunteer. If you haven’t filled out a Volunteer Info Sheet, please go the website and do that now. Once you’ve signed up to volunteer, please expect a call from a member of the WCNA-32 Support Committee. They are working hard to get in touch with everyone who filled out a form. ADA Information Also available online is ADA information for those with disabilities. If you or anyone you know require things like scooters, wheelchairs, special shuttles, or accommodation for any special need, we ask you to go online and fill out the form. This will help us better serve your needs during the world convention. Alternative Merchandise Store The Alternative Merchandise Instructions and Letter of Agreement are also available online. If your area or region is interested in selling merchandise at WCNA-32 on Sunday, 2 September, you must register for an assigned table slot by filling out the application by 1 August and you must obtain a tax permit issued by the Texas state controller. People who have not obtained a seller’s permit from NAWS and have not obtained a tax permit will not be authorized to sell in the alternative merchandise store. You can fill out the WCNA-32 Alternative Merchandise Seller’s Permit on our website, and you can fill out the Texas state controller tax permit application by going to www.window.state.tx.us/taxpermit/. World Unity Day Telephone Hookup Registration is now available for a World Unity Day telephone hookup to the worldwide conference call to take place on Sunday, 2 September, during the last day of WCNA-32. We are offering one free regional hookup to every region outside of North America. If you can’t make it to WCNA-32, you can still be a part of the experience and plan an event with your group, area, or region. Maybe your event will be announced around the world! If we don’t see you in San Antonio, then we hope to hear from you on Unity Day. For all this and more, go to: www.na.org/wcna32/index.htm
For more details on HRP activities, read the most recent NAWS News. IDT-Who's missing from our meetings? | Basic Text project update
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