1. Public Information Conference A.A. Helplines
PI Conference| Mumbai February 2019

2. Agenda A.A. Helplines Guidelines for Helpline Services
What is a Helpline?
Responsibility
While Answering a Call
Starting a Helpline Service
Financing
A Few Suggestions
PI Conference| Mumbai| February 2019

3. Disclaimer This presentation is just a brief overview
For more information please refer to:
AA Guidelines – AA Answering Service
AA Helpline Handbook
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4. AA Service
“Our Twelfth Step – carrying the message – is the basic service that the AA Fellowship gives; this is our principal aim and the main reason for our existence”
Bill W. in AA’s Legacy of Service
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5. A.A. Guidelines – Help-lines
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6. A.A. Helpline WHAT IS AN A.A. Helpline?
An A.A. Helplines offers a gateway to reach Alcoholics Anonymous.
The service receives inquiries from those seeking help /Information
Provides Information / Refers callers to a nearby A.A. group or may have a twelfth stepper contact them.
Serves groups in One City/ Area /State; Some have started state-wide Helplines.
In the past, the A.A. answering service provided a listing for Alcoholics Anonymous in the local telephone directory. As technology has changed, A.A. members providing this service have found new avenues for problem drinkers seeking help to find A.A. – for example, getting the Helplines number listed online with A.A. websites, Internet directories and local community websites and the AA App.
PI Conference| Mumbai| February 2019

7. A.A. Helplines RESPONSIBILITY ?
Sharing on this question varies:
One or two members may be responsible;
An answering service committee may handle matters;
An intergroup or central office may manage this service;
The answering service may be the responsibility of the district or area general service committee
WHO ANSWERS THE PHONES — A.A. Members Or Commercial Service Personnel?
Some answering services rely on A.A. members exclusively.
Many answering services hire a commercial service which answers the phone and connects callers to an A.A. group or A.A. contact listed with them rotating duty basis
If a commercial answering service is hired, it is suggested that one person be appointed to make the arrangements, pay the bills, and handle contacts with the answering service, in order to avoid confusing the answering service personnel.
PI Conference| Mumbai| February 2019

8. A.A. Helplines “Alcoholics Anonymous, how may we help you?”
WHEN THE PHONE RINGS...
Please answer each call:
“Alcoholics Anonymous, how may we help you?”
While we get a wide variety of calls, the majority of them are four types:
Caller wants to stop drinking
Caller wants help for a relative or friend
Caller wants meeting Information
Caller wants Intergroup Committee Information
PI Conference| Mumbai| February 2019

9. A.A. Helplines If the caller wants AA’s help or can’t stop drinking
1. Answer by saying, “A.A. Helpline.”
2. Try to find out what the caller wants.
3. It the caller is reluctant to give a name, don’t insist.
4. Never argue with the caller. Explain that you are a Helpline and will try to put them in touch with an A.A. member.
5. Please remember that alcoholics and members of their families who call for help are sick people; dealing with them can sometimes be frustrating unless this is kept in mind.
6. It you are criticized, tell the caller that you are acting on instructions from the answering service committee.
7. Log the reason for the call and caller’s information on the sheet and pass the information to nearby volunteer immediately
8. Note the disposition of the call with the name and phone number of the A.A. member to whom it was referred.
Contd…
PI Conference| Mumbai| February 2019

10. A.A. Helplines If the caller wants AA’s help or can’t stop drinking
9. REMEMBER – Many of these callers are Very Sick!
10. Your main objective is to connect the caller with one of our 12th Step Volunteers!
11. Please do not 12th Step on phone whatever be the temptation. Just Pass it On.
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11. A.A. Helplines 2. If the caller wants help for a relative or friend
Kindly tell the caller that while we understand their concern, we do NOT do interventions. The drinker must ask for help directly.
Refer them to one of the 12-step programs designed for their significant other.
Log the call and pass it on
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12. A.A. Helplines 3. If the caller wants meeting information
Find out where they live. If they are traveling, where are they staying?
Use a print schedule to find a meeting time and place.
Directions to most meetings are in the list
Log the call
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13. A.A. Helplines 4. If the caller wants Intergroup Committee Information
A professional, an institution, a hospital or social agency may contact us about an AA meeting at their location.
Ask them for contact information and log it
Advise them that someone will contact them back.
Log the call and pass it on.
PI Conference| Mumbai| February 2019

14. A.A. Helplines How to connect with a 12th Step Volunteer
Locate someone from the list to call back your caller.
Use the following guidelines to find the best match. One being optimal and decreasing to four as least:
Same location and sex.
Same sex and any location.
Same location and opposite sex.
Opposite sex and any location.
If you cannot reach a 12th Step Volunteer
You may also take the 12th step call yourself.
Each recovered alcoholic is uniquely qualified to help one that still suffers, including YOU!
If all else fails, ask your sponsor for help!
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15. A.A. Helplines Starting a Helpline
Sometimes a Helpline has been started by one A.A. group or even by one or two members who felt the need for such a service.
As the service begins to fill the need and as A.A. grows locally, other groups nearby become interested and join in the support of the Helplines.
General service district committees sometimes are responsible for starting an answering service. If possible, before making such a decision, the group conscience of all groups involved should be consulted, in order to ensure both financial support and a supply of volunteers to take Twelfth Step calls.
Groups are usually aware that the service is filling a real need and consequently are willing to support it. It is important to be assured in advance of support and of willingness to stick with the answering service until it has a chance to catch on and prove its worth.
The importance of keeping the list of volunteer Twelfth-Step workers up to date and on a rotating basis cannot be over-emphasized.
PI Conference| Mumbai| February 2019

16. A.A. Helplines FINANCING
Carefully estimate how much money will be needed and how much will be available.
Be sure that the groups will finance the venture.
Encourage groups to pledge a regular amount each month.
When prorating costs among participating groups, add a small amount each month in order to build a reserve for emergencies or expansion of the service.
Paying for Helpliness
When several groups get together and decide to start a Helplines, the usual experience seems to be that each group contributes according to its own group conscience.
In some cases, each group is charged exactly the same amount.
In a few instances, groups are charged for the Helplines on the basis of group size.
When district committees are responsible, groups contribute to the district committee and the committee pays the bills.
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17. A.A. Helplines A Few Suggestions: Getting Started
Check with your area, district and nearby central or intergroup office to make sure this service is not duplicating an already existing A.A. service.
Start small, and remember “Easy Does It.” It is easier to expand than to reduce services.
Abide by the group conscience of the groups involved. Take care to separate individual opinions from group conscience.
Generally Helplines are listed under “Alcoholics Anonymous” or “A.A.”
Since many people seek help via an Internet search, consider getting the Helplines number listed on a local A.A. website and on G.S.O.’s A.A. website
Contd…
PI Conference| Mumbai| February 2019

18. A.A. Helplines A Few Suggestions: Getting Started
Volunteer Support of A.A. Members
Consider the need for a responsible person to take charge.
In areas that use volunteers only, rather than a commercial answering service, there are many options available: call forwarding, voic , a cell phone passed among volunteers, a voice-activated prompt system that gives callers options, etc.
It you cannot or do not choose to use a commercial service, start out with two A.A. members — each with a reasonable length of sobriety — to handle the calls.
Consider the number of A.A. people available to answer Twelfth Step calls.
It is suggested that volunteer Twelfth Step workers should have at least six months sobriety and should state the days and hours when they will be available for calls.
Be sure that the list of A.A. volunteers is current and active.
Consider providing volunteer training and a list of suggested tips and referral numbers.
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19. Join us as we trudge the road of happy destiny!
A.A. Helplines
Thank you for your service!
Join us as we trudge the road of happy destiny!
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20. A.A. Helplines
Questions Please!
PI Conference| Mumbai| February 2019