Alcoholics Anonymous is a program for people that have begun their recovery from alcoholism. The one requirement to join is the person must be willing to stop drinking. It is a program for both men and women. AA is known for using the twelve steps of recovery as a guide to facing life without alcohol in it. The new joining members will be assigned a mentor. The mentor is also a recovering alcoholic and can relate to some of the feelings that someone coming into the program has and is living with now. They act as a support and advisor. The main purpose of AA is for the members to remain sober.
Once you have joined it is imperative to continue going to the meetings at least once a week. The meetings are free and several are scheduled every day so that it is convenient for the member to attend. The meetings can be held in a church or a room somewhere. Part of the meeting some of the members get up and talk about themselves and tell everyone that they are an alcoholic. Then they talk about the twelve steps.
One of the first things the member is given in the meeting is a copy of the twelve steps. They are told to read them over and familiarize themselves with each step. During the meeting the host will give an explanation of the one or two steps that the group is studying at that moment. The member is also given a booklet of phone numbers of people to call just in case they are thinking about taking a drink. The group honestly cares about the members and wants to see them successfully abstain from drinking. Once in a while a member will relapse but with the support of the group they are given a second chance.
