Deaf Alcoholic Vodcast Team AA Service Committee

Who we are

The Deaf Alcoholic Vodcast Team is a stand-alone (autonomous) service committee within Alcoholics Anonymous. All six of our members have long-term sobriety and serve as trusted servants, committed to carrying the message in ASL to Deaf alcoholics.

Who do we serve

We serve Alcoholics Anonymous Access Committees and Deaf alcoholics throughout the United States and Canada. Our team collaborates with Access Committees and Deaf alcoholics to produce ASL vodcasts and submit them to AA Grapevine and La Viña YouTube channels.

What’s different about us? By Deaf alcoholics for Deaf alcoholics. 

Historically, Access Committees have hired interpreters to translate a Deaf person’s story from ASL into spoken English (audio recordings) or written English for submission to Grapevine magazine or the Box 459 newsletter. While this method made Deaf alcoholics’ stories accessible to hearing members, it did not make them accessible to other Deaf alcoholics.

Our Approach

Our work is Deaf-centered. We engage a Certified Deaf Interpreter (CDI) or Deaf Interpreter to provide audience interpretation of the story in American Sign Language (ASL), preserving the integrity of the original language while honoring its cultural context.

In addition, we provide a DeafBlind-accessible plain English visual descriptive transcript. This ensures the content is accessible to a broader audience, including DeafBlind individuals and those who benefit from clear, descriptive language.

Our goal is not just access—but meaningful, culturally responsive access.

With guidance from AA Grapevine, we have developed written guidelines to help Alcoholics Anonymous Access Committees collaborate effectively with Deaf alcoholics and the Deaf Alcoholic Vodcast team to produce ASL video submissions for Grapevine.

How do we pay the cost to make the vodcast

Funding for the ASL Vodcast is the responsibility of the Deaf Alcoholic Vodcast Team AA Service Committee. We produce the videos independently and provide them to AA Grapevine.

Maintaining financial independence from AA Grapevine ensures that the production process—specifically the hiring of Certified Deaf Interpreters to provide audience interpretation of members’ stories—is directed and managed by the Deaf AA community, for the Deaf AA community.

We request voluntary 7th tradition contributions from the fellowship. We do NOT accept any funds from any nonAA resources. AA Access Committees, Districts and groups can provide Deaf Alcoholic Vodcast scholarships.