24/7 Nevada A.A.
Hotline Numbers
click here
24/7 Nevada A.A.
Hotline Numbers
click here
Eastern Nevada
(Ely, Caliente, Tonopah) &
surrounding areas
(702) 598-1888 or
(775) 355-1151
Hispanic Hotline - Las Vegas/
Southern Nevada area
(702) 387-8744
Las Vegas/
Southern Nevada area
(702) 598-1888
Northern Nevada area
(775) 229-0440
Pahrump &
surrounding areas
(775) 513-7975
click here
Eastern Nevada
(Ely, Caliente, Tonopah) &
surrounding areas
Hispanic - Las Vegas/ Southern Nevada
Las Vegas/
Southern Nevada area
Northern Nevada area
Pahrump &
surrounding areas
A.A.'s cooperative relationship with Law Enforcement Agencies dates back to 1942. At that time, members of Alcoholics Anonymous from San Francisco brought the first A.A. meeting into San Quentin Prison at the request of Warden Clinton T. Duffy. Warden Duffy considered prison reform a most urgent and pressing problem of that time, highlighting the special needs of the inmates imprisoned for crimes committed while drinking. As Warden Duffy said, ...
the program he now proposed “would include education, vocational training, medicine, psychiatry, and religion. But the alcoholic did not seem to fit completely into this program...all the rest would not help him if the problems which drove him to drink were not solved. If every offender were to receive full advantage of the new program, then the alcoholic too must receive the assistance and understanding of all available knowledge and procedures. And in line with this new approach to rehabilitation, I looked upon Alcoholics Anonymous as a tool to help us rebuild lives.”
To Warden Duffy’s aid came Warren T. and other members in the San Francisco area and thus began the pioneering of A.A.’s first prison group in 1942. As Warden Duffy has since said, “Had it not been for the regular help and understanding given by our A.A. friends outside, the San Quentin chapter of Alcoholics Anonymous would most assuredly have failed. And by the same token, if it had not been for the persistence of that first group of alcoholic inmates who realized their serious problem and their need for help, we could never have continued beyond the first few meetings.”
Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age - a brief history of A.A., pages 89-90
This pioneering event with San Quentin Prison led to A.A.’s cooperation with court systems, including direct communications with judges and parole and probation officials. The sole purpose of this Twelfth Step work, then and now, is to carry A.A.’s message to the still-suffering alcoholic. To fulfill that purpose, A.A.s have learned how to share A.A. information within court systems.
As of November 2024, there are approximately 1,360 A.A. groups meeting in correctional facilities throughout the United States and Canada; and since the advent of virtual meetings, members of Alcoholics Anonymous are able to bring even more A.A. meetings to those who are incarcerated via the internet.
Regardless of the means by which the meeting is conducted, in-person or virtually, each meeting group has a local arrangement between the administrators of the prison, work farm or jail. These arrangements are regulations that are inviolable for A.A. visitors as well as for attendees on the inside. Since regulations can and do vary, A.A. members will need to be specifically informed about the rules/regulations of each facility they will enter. To that end, good communication between corrections administrators and local A.A. committees is essential.
Experience shows that when alcoholics who attend A.A. meetings inside go promptly to A.A. on the outside, they are likely to stay sober — and free. However, if they put it off until they “get settled,” they may never get to A.A. Alcoholics Anonymous can help minimize this risk. Before A.A. members in custody are actually released, there is usually time to get in touch with A.A. in the city or town where they plan to live. The inside sponsor and A.A. contacts can almost always make sure that a real welcome awaits newly-free people — as fellow members of A.A., not former members in custody.
Click on the icon entitled A Message to Corrections Professionals for more information on how A.A. meetings operate within Corrections Facilities and services A.A. offers to those who are preparing for release.
Whether an A.A. member is incarcerated or free about society, the process of Sponsorship is this: An alcoholic who has made some progress in the recovery program shares that experience on a continuous, individual basis with another alcoholic who is attempting to attain or maintain sobriety through A.A. Sponsorship responsibility is unwritten and informal, but it is a basic part of the A.A. approach to recovery from alcoholism through the Twelve Steps.
Sponsors are A.A. members who ...
have actually worked the Steps of A.A. as a way to attain sobriety and thus are in the best position to share their experience, strength and hope. The most successful sponsors seem to be people who have been in A.A. long enough to have a good understanding of the A.A. program outlined in the Twelve Steps.
Within Alcoholics Anonymous, things don’t get done by magic - they get done by individual A.A. members taking on service commitments. Whether it is for a group meeting or for a larger A.A. event, someone must set up chairs and tables, make coffee, hang up signs, put out literature, and clean up afterward. We realized we could lend a hand. Getting involved in this way helped us feel more connected to the group and to A.A. as a whole, and doing these things kept us thinking about staying sober.
In A.A.'s cooperative relationship with Corrections, Law Enforcement and Judicial Professionals ...
some of these service options, particularly those associated with larger A.A. events that are open to the community, could provide community service opportunities for offenders in special programs. The particulars of the service options can be clearly defined to the program officials or administrators and if necessary, proof of attendance can be provided (in accordance with A.A.'s Position on Proof of Attendance).
Many Judicial programs suggest or sometimes require those who are on probation or have been paroled to attend a Twelve Step Program. In fact, some require written proof that offenders have attended a certain number of meetings over various periods of time. Often, when the court-ordered newcomer attends an A.A. meeting, ...
the group secretary (or other group officer) is willing to sign their first name, or to initial a slip furnished by the court saying so-and-so was at the meeting on a particular date. Hopefully, all involved recognize that neither the group nor its members are “bound” in any way by the signature, nor does this courtesy signify affiliation of the A.A. group with any other program or guarantee that the attendee was present for the entire meeting; it simply illustrates cooperation. Court professionals should understand too, that attendance at A.A. meetings doesn’t guarantee sobriety.
Placing great emphasis on A.A.’s principle of Anonymity, we understand that some A.A. members are uncomfortable when asked to sign their full name or to supply other personal information indicating that they are A.A. members. This cherished Tradition of Anonymity provides protection to all A.A.s from being publically identified as alcoholics, a safeguard especially important to the newcomer. Since each group is autonomous, and providing proof of attendance at meetings is not a specific part of A.A.’s program, each group and group member has the right to choose whether or not to sign court slips.
While some groups have elected not to sign court cards, it is our experience that most groups will try to cooperate with our professional friends. In some areas, courts furnish cooperating A.A. groups with sealed, stamped envelopes addressed to the court. In general, the secretary of the group announces that anybody needing an envelope may get it after the meeting. The newcomer takes the envelope, privately writes his or her name and/or return address on it, and mails it. In other areas, each cooperating group has a sheet, furnished by the court, that the secretary announces is available for court ordered newcomers to sign after the meeting. The secretary returns the sheets in envelopes furnished by the referring agency. In this way, it is not the A.A. group, but the prospect’s own signature which affirms he or she was at the meeting.
Excellent answers to that question come from sober people who are members of the Fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous. Below are audio playlists: from the official YouTube channel for Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc. (AAWS); and from the official YouTube channel for AA GRAPEVINE. Click on the audio links below to hear the experience, strength and hope of those A.A. members who are or were at one time incarcerated.
A.A. in jails and prisons: Currently or formerly in custody members of Alcoholics Anonymous talk about staying sober one day at a time, and explain how, even in correctional facilities, they found freedom from alcoholism through A.A.
The official YouTube channel for Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc. (AAWS) is maintained by the General Service Office (GSO) of the U.S. and Canada.
Do any of the experiences relayed in these audio recordings resemble those lived by people you encounter in your professional life? If so, consider urging them to listen to these or others offered by AAWS or AA GRAPEVINE; or read any of the literature published by both; or attend a meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous. Toggle on the links below to access this information. If you have difficulty finding anything or have difficulty navigating any of the sites, click on the CONTACT US button below and we will help you:
Read excerpts from the article, Cooperating with the Courts, authored by Chief Judge, Kerry Meyer. In this article she shares her experiences with A.A. volunteers. Use the dropdown to read excerpts from this Grapevine article.
Kerry Meyer was appointed District Court Judge in the Fourth Judicial District in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 2006. Working in the “biggest and busiest district” in the state, Kerry has presided over cases across the spectrum—felony, juvenile, property, misdemeanor, civil and more. Kerry presided over DWI, Mental Health, and Veterans Treatment Court full time for three and a half years. She is currently the Chief Judge of the District. Kerry began her six-year term as a Class-A (nonalcoholic) Trustee for Alcoholics Anonymous in April of 2022....
In 2013, I rotated to preside over the DWI Court in my district. That was the beginning of an incredible series of experiences that have led me to the General Service Board of Alcoholics Anonymous.
I am a trial court judge and I was the first nonalcoholic judge assigned to preside over the local DWI Court. DWI Court is an intensive court program for people convicted of multiple DWIs. Abstinence was the key provision of the court program while I was there. Our local DWI Court had an incredible group of AA volunteers who helped the court participants not only to be sober but to find a life of freedom in recovery.
I had a lot of professional experience working with people who suffered from addiction, including alcoholism, but I had never worked weekly with a group of people who all had the same affliction. I knew I needed more tools to be able to understand what the participants were going through. The AA volunteers were anxious to help me learn more.
A core group of AA members came to court every week. They ran a program they developed called “Introduction to Recovery.” It was a rolling program of four one-hour units that covered sobriety, relapse, the court program, and understanding family dynamics especially related to the other alcoholics in their lives. This group of volunteers also led weekly AA meetings for men and women on site. They helped new participants find meetings and transportation to those meetings, as well as lining them up with temporary sponsors.
... There was another group of volunteers in our local AA community who ran a Big Book Study they call “Study and Action.” They brought that program into the courthouse twice a year. It was important to me not to be the kind of judge who said “I heard that Step is hard,” but had no personal idea how hard. So the first thing I did was sign up for that class (with the new court participants!). They did so much more than read the first 164 pages together. They stopped to explain concepts as they read through the book...
We were named a DWI Academy Court in 2014 and stood as a national model. The AA volunteers were a big part of what made the holistic court program special. Most importantly, hundreds of participants were able to understand that sobriety is but a small part of recovery....
To be directed to the entire article, click the blue button titled:
AAGAPEVINE OCTOBER 2024 - Cooperating with the Courts
If you or anyone you know needs to talk to someone immediately, call any of our Hotlines - a member of the AA Fellowship will answer, 24/7.
Eastern Nevada
(Ely, Caliente, Tonopah) & surrounding areas
(702) 598-1888 or (775) 355-1151
Hispanic Hotline/Las Vegas
(702) 387-8744
Las Vegas/Southern Nevada (702) 598-1888
Northern Nevada (775) 229-0440
Pahrump & surrounding areas (775) 513-7975
All material found on this site is for informational purposes, only.
In accordance with A.A.'s non-affiliation principle, attention brought by this website to opinions or information offered by others does not represent A.A. endorsement or affiliation.
All information presented here whose Copyright © by A.A. World Services, Inc. is reprinted with permission
All information presented here whose Copyright © by AA Grapevine, Inc. is reprinted with permission
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