“Life will take on new meaning. To watch people recover, to see them help others, to watch loneliness vanish, to see a fellowship grow up about you, to have a host of friends—this is an experience you must not miss. We know you will not want to miss it. Frequent contact with newcomers and with each other is the bright spot of our lives.”*
Desire & Willingness
Have you ever thought about how an online CA meeting gets started? Your hometown may have several C.A. meetings or perhaps only a few. They usually began out of a need to carry the message of recovery to others. In every case, someone made a decision to help Cocaine Anonymous grow by starting a meeting. It was often scheduled for a day or time when there was no other meeting available. People needed a place to go to share their experience, strength, and hope with others in recovery—others who had “been there” and who could understand. Someone has a video-conferencing account (i.e. Zoom). Someone made some virtual flyers, emails and phone calls to get the word out that there was a new online C.A. meeting starting. Meeting formats were emailed out and speakers were scheduled. Eventually, the group held its first business meeting, a name was chosen for the group, and trusted servants were elected.
You can start an online C.A. meeting, too. You already have the necessary tools. It takes willingness, commitment, and one or two people with a desire to stay sober and help others do the same. It doesn’t matter if the meeting is large or small. We are told that we “can’t keep what we have unless we give it away.”
Starting a meeting can be accomplished by simply making a few telephone calls, showing up to open the virtual meeting space, greeting and making everyone feel welcome.
Get the Word Out
Once the virtual room ID and link, day, and time for the new meeting have been established, the next task is to get the word out. The Online Recovery Area can help get the new meeting put into the CA Meeting App and/or onto the Area website. Announce the newly scheduled online meeting in other online C.A. meetings and let it be known you’ll share details afterward with anyone needing a virtual meeting link or ID or additional information. Virtual flyers with all the pertinent details can be especially helpful. Let people know that the new online meeting is for newcomers and old-timers alike and that support would be appreciated.
Preparation
Choose a particular format. Different meetings have different purposes. For example, you might consider:
- Speaker meetings — one or more members share their recovery experience.
- Discussion meetings — members share on a recovery topic.
- Step meetings — discussion focuses on one of the Twelve Steps.
- Literature meetings — the group reads and discusses recovery literature.
- Newcomer meetings — designed especially for people who are new to recovery.
Remember
• Bring desire & willingness;
• Contact the Online Recovery Area
• Review the definition of a “Group” in the C.A. World Service Manual;
• Choose an online meeting format, what readings will be used
• Set the day and time;
• Acquire a virtual platform account i.e. Zoom
• Create virtual flyers;
• Get the word out via the Online Recovery Area Website; whatsapp groups, FaceBook pages, etc.
• Get an online bank account for the 7th Tradition; i.e. PayPal, Google Pay, Venmo, etc.
• Keep coming back.
Finally …
Tradition Five of Cocaine Anonymous tells us that our primary purpose is to carry the message of recovery to other addicts. Helping others and being of maximum service is our goal; it is the foundation of our recovery. Starting a meeting not only contributes to the growth of Cocaine Anonymous, it enhances your own recovery. The effort involved in starting a C.A. meeting is minimal, but the rewards are infinite.
*This excerpt from Alcoholics Anonymous, page 89, is reprinted with permission of Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc. (“AAWS”).to reprint this excerpt does not mean that AAWS has reviewed or approved the contents of this publication, or that AAWS necessarily agrees with the views expressed herein. A.A. is a program of recovery from alcoholism only—use of this excerpt in connection with programs and activities which are patterned after A.A., but which address other problems, or in any other non-A.A. context, does not imply otherwise.