Accessibilities

“AA unity is not based upon authority but upon accepting differences, allowing freedom, and keeping our focus on the primary purpose of helping one another achieve and maintain sobriety.”

-Milton Maxwell, Chairman of the General Service Board, 1980

Who We Are

The District 3B Accessibilities Committee is an AA service committee dedicated to providing materials and resources to serve the members of Alcoholics Anonymous with accessibility issues. We work in cooperation with SWTA 68 Accessibilities Committee and other Accessibilities Committees throughout the area.

The purpose of the Accessibilities Committee is to carry the message of Alcoholics Anonymous to those who are blind or visually impaired; deaf or hard of hearing; chronically ill or home bound, and those who are Dyslexic or have other learning difficulties .

Who in your AA group has an accessibility barrier? 

  • AA members with Mobility issues, use of a wheelchair, walker, cane

  • AA members who are Deaf Alcoholic  or hard of hearing 

  • Blind AA members 

  • Elder alcoholics – Oldtimers have given us so much.

  • Spanish speaking AA members – in need of interpretation

  • AA members who have small children and need baby-sitting 

  • Homebound – due to illness or age 

  • AA members with reading difficulties 

How the Accessibilities Committee Seeks to Serve

  • Share AA Guidelines and resources  on welcoming and working with those AA members who are Deaf, Blind, wheelchair bound, homebound, or learning difficulties.

  • Provide information on A.A. literature in a variety of formats:  Braille, American Sign Language DVDs, audio cassettes, CDs, large print, and illustrated pamphlets and brochures.

  • Share how to effectively welcome and include all our AA members who have accessibility barriers and insure that they become a valued part of the home groups, including looking at attitudes that prevent some from accepting these individuals as just another AA member seeking fellowship, sponsorship, and service. 

  • Give reports of on-going activities of the Accessibility service going on in the District or Area. 

  • Provide Information on  wheelchair-accessible meetings, baby-sitting meetings with , interpreted meetings for Spanish  and ASL 

  • Encourage groups to organize meetings for homebound AA members

  • Encourage AA members  to  organize rides for home group members who are blind. 

  • Provide on-line resources  and hold workshops.

  • Collaborate with GSO , SWTA, and all interested AA members.

Service Animals and AA Meetings (Box 4-5-9, Fall 2019)

For many A.A.s, a dog-eared Big Book is a welcome sight on meeting night. But if those dog ears belong to anything other than our basic text, unrest and “diversity of opinion” within the group sometimes follow. In recent years, the General Service Office has received many calls from members asking for sharing about service animals at meetings. Unlike guide dogs for those who are blind, service dogs that are trained to assist with (or perform) other tasks are not as well understood or as easily identified. Though service dogs do assist people who are blind, they are also trained to perform tasks for people with other accessibility issues — such as pulling a wheelchair; alerting and protecting a person who is having a seizure; or alleviating anxiety for someone with PTSD. Without service animals, many A.A.s could not safely attend meetings.

However, some members report being blocked from meetings because they are accompanied by service animals. Some insist that such groups are in violation of laws such as the Americans with Disabilities Act. Of course, A.A.’s Twelve Traditions do not transcend the law, and G.S.O. neither offers compliance advice nor interprets law for members. In these cases, G.S.O. may suggest asking the group to have an informed group conscience discussion on how to extend the hand of A.A. across any barriers. Therefore, in the interest of being informed, some groups have decided to look into local and federal laws related to service animals. This way, they can ensure that they are not only complying with the law but are also remaining helpful to their fellow members and sharing A.A.’s message of hope and recovery.

Although shared group experience about service animals is not as plentiful as concerns and questions, a group member in California shared her experience: “In our meeting, I had the ‘pet patrol’ commitment. We average four dogs per meeting, from chihuahuas to wolfhounds. Our meeting is open to the public, and we welcome trained service dogs. [According to our research] we may ask if the dog is a service animal required because of a disability, as well as what type of work or task the dog has been trained to perform. We may not ask for documentation. ‘Comfort’ animals may be asked to leave.

“I volunteered because I wanted to serve as a buffer between the members who bring the animals and the members who are disturbed by it. My approach was to introduce myself, ask the names of the person and animal, explain my role, and ask if the animal has been trained to perform a task that supports a disability. If ‘yes,’ I respond: ‘Thank you. It’s nice to meet you.’ If ‘no,’ I welcome them to stay for the meeting, but ask them to please leave the pet at home when they return. Although some members are indignant that I have not effectively prevented an overrun of animals and some owners are hostile, it has worked. I have made new friends and I ask about the pets at home.”

This member also related personal experience about “surprising” dogs being service animals: “A sponsee of mine was in a car accident. As a result of her injuries, she experienced seizures. She had a tiny little dog, like a teacup dog, that she trained to detect when she had a seizure coming. If I hadn’t seen it, I wouldn’t have believed it — but it was true.”

The pamphlet “The A.A. Group” reassures us that group problems are by no means uncommon, and that they “are often evidence of a healthy, desirable diversity of opinion among the group members. They give us a chance … to ‘practice these principles in all our affairs.’” As with other group issues, A.A.s have often found that “a good sense of humor, cooling-off periods, patience, courtesy, willingness to listen and to wait — plus a sense of fairness and trust in a ‘Power greater than ourselves’ — have been found far more effective than legalistic arguments or personal accusations.” And, although a specific issue may not be printed in black and white, alcoholics are a resourceful crowd, and an informed group conscience can yield abundant solutions.

When We Meet

The Accessibility Committee  meets on the 4th Thursday, of each month  

Contact Norma A. Accessibilities committee Chair,  for location: accessibilities@district3b.org

Please join us!

On-line Resources

Accessibilities Checklist: https://www.aa.org/accessibilities-checklist-meetings-and-groups

Deaf AA: https://sites.google.com/view/deafaa/home

On-line Intergroup: https://aa-intergroup.org

“Respect for the dignity of others is the foundation for all our efforts to carry the message to alcoholics with diverse needs, with emphasis on identification rather than on how we are different.”

-AA Guidelines