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Members of NAWS presented the following at
the American Correctional Association Conference, August 1999.
Narcotics Anonymous: A Vision of Hope on the
Inside; Living the Vision on the Outside
Theme: Narcotics Anonymous: A self-help resource
in the correctional setting and a way of sustaining recovery
upon release into the community - Presented at American
Correctional Association Conference, August 1999
Introduction
Thank you for your interest in the Narcotics Anonymous program
and its volunteer efforts. Our presentation will share
information regarding NA. volunteers in the correctional system.
Their function is to introduce inmates, who are substance
abusers, to recovery in Narcotics Anonymous. Additionally, we
will highlight the importance of community-based recovery
programs that assist felons with living drug-free upon their
release. Emphasis is placed on providing an alternative to
substance abusers that may help reduce their recidivism.
What is Narcotics Anonymous
Narcotics Anonymous is a nonprofit fellowship. Our membership is
free. We offer a program of recovery to anyone who has a desire
to stop using drugs. By following the program of recovery
offered in Narcotics Anonymous, our members have found a way to
live drug-free as responsible and productive citizens of
society. The program of NA consists of guiding principles, as
outlined in our literature, It Works How and Why and the Twelve
Concepts for NA Service. Outlined in It Works How and Why are
the Twelve Steps that are for individual members to use as a
personal program of recovery and the Twelve Traditions that are
principles for the groups. The Twelve Concepts serve as guiding
principles for our organizational structure.
Narcotics Anonymous is not affiliated with other organizations,
including other Twelve Step programs, treatment centers or
correctional facilities. As an organization, we do not employ
professional counselors or therapists. Narcotics Anonymous has
no residential facilities or clinics and does not provide
vocational, legal, financial, psychiatric or medical services.
We recognize that NA is but one organization among many
addressing the problem of drug addiction/drug dependency. Our
members have significant success in addressing their own
addiction, but Narcotics Anonymous does not claim to have a
program that will work for all addicts under all circumstances
or that its therapeutic views should be universally adopted. In
order to maintain its focus on a program of recovery, NA does
not express or endorse anything outside its own specific sphere
of activity. NA does not express opinions, pro or con, on
religion and civil, social, medical, or legal issues such as
criminality, law enforcement, drug legalization, prostitution,
HIV and free needle programs. We keep our focus to what we
believe is our realm of expertise-that of one recovering addict
helping another. If Narcotics Anonymous can be useful to the
inmates in your facility, and we are available in your area, we
welcome the opportunity to be of service.
Narcotics Anonymous Growth
The rapid growth of registered Narcotics Anonymous meetings in
recent years and the rapid spread of NA outside of North America
are prime indicators of the program's success. In 1978, there
were fewer than 200 groups in three countries. By 1983, the
Narcotics Anonymous program of recovery had reached more than a
dozen countries with 2,966 registered meetings. In 1998, we knew
of groups holding 24,685 weekly meetings in ninety (90)
countries.
Primarily due to NA's emphasis on protecting the anonymity of
our members, no comprehensive survey of the Narcotics Anonymous
membership has been completed to date. In 1989, we conducted an
informal poll of our members and had 5,000 respondents. The
information gleaned was of gender and age of our members. Our
members were 64% male and 36% female. The predominant age was
between 30 and 45 (48%) followed by 20 to 30 year olds (37%).
How Narcotics Anonymous Works
Narcotics Anonymous believes that one of the keys to its success
is the therapeutic value of recovering addicts helping each
other, and in particular helping the new member. The most common
venue that affords this assistance is the NA meeting. In
meetings, each member shares personal experience with living
life drug-free with others who are in attendance at meetings.
Formats may vary (topic, speaker, book study) from meeting to
meeting but all essentially have one thing in common, an
atmosphere of hope and empathy. Meetings may be classified as
"open" to anyone or "closed" to members and those who believe
they have a drug problem.
A fundamental suggestion is for members to seek a sponsor. A
sponsor is an experienced member who offers informal assistance
to a new member on how to remain drug-free and gives suggestions
on how to work a program of recovery.
The Narcotics Anonymous program of recovery uses a simple,
experience-oriented 'disease concept' of addiction. Narcotics
Anonymous does not qualify its use of the term 'disease' in any
medical or specialized therapeutic sense, nor does NA make any
attempt to persuade others of the correctness of its views.
Rather, the NA fellowship asserts that its members have found
acceptance of addiction as a disease to be effective in helping
them in their recovery.
NA Volunteers - What Services Do They Provide?
NA volunteers provide services based upon the type of request
and the number of available volunteers. On many occasions the
request is for information about NA and how to obtain NA
literature. However, the most common request is for volunteers
to make a presentation to a facility's administrative staff
and/or residents or inmates. Our volunteers' primary purpose is
to advance awareness of the NA program to anyone seeking
recovery from drug addiction.
We provide support to those inmates who think they have a drug
problem or a history of chemical dependency. The volunteers from
the NA program share their personal experiences about utilizing
the NA program to live a drug-free life. This exposure to the NA
program and NA members can have an appreciable effect in
reducing recidivism by reassuring the incarcerated individual
that upon release there will be support in helping to continue
their recovery. Our experience as a fellowship has shown that
this identification and association are vital. Narcotics
Anonymous provides an opportunity to each individual to improve
the quality of his/her life, both inside the facility and after
release from the facility.
Hospitals and Institutions (H&I) Meetings
H&l meetings/presentations, except for those in longer-term
facilities, are intended to simply introduce some of the basic
principles of the NA program to inmates who have a history of
substance abuse and who do not have full access to regular
Narcotics Anonymous meetings in the outside community. In many
cases, the NA H&I meeting complements the facility's substance
abuse program by providing contact with other recovering addicts
and an atmosphere to share experience, strength, and hope with
living life drug-free.
Sometimes correctional administrators and/or substance abuse
program staff will contact NA through a local NA
helpline/phoneline number and request to have an H&l
meeting/presentation in their institution. Once we are
contacted, a representative usually calls back to set up an
appointment. If we are unable to support a meeting/presentation
at that time, we explain that at the appointment and that we
will nevertheless, maintain communication. We may also provide
NA literature, our product catalog, and inform them about some
of our publications, one of which - The Institutional Group
Guide - is specifically designed for starting and sustaining
meetings in an institutional setting. At other times the local
H&l subcommittee will approach a facility to propose a
meeting/presentation but this will occur only if they are
prepared to provide the members to support such a meeting.
How Narcotics Anonymous H&I Meetings are Conducted
NA H&l meetings in correctional facilities will vary in format
from one facility to another. Facilities will have different
policies that we must take into consideration when planning a
format or bringing NA volunteers to the H&l meeting. Our goal is
to provide an atmosphere where the NA message of recovery is
carried and shared.
We have experience carrying the message of recovery in both
short and long-term facilities. We use the phrase "short-term"
to refer to facilities in which inmates are held for less than
one year, and includes some city and county jails, work farms,
honor farms, and privately owned prisons. Because these inmates
will be held for a period of some months, we usually share about
experiences in early recovery. We feel it is important to give
practical information about the NA program of recovery since
inmates tend to get involved in discussing what they are going
to do about recovery when they get out. We feel that recovery
need not depend on, nor require, a particular living situation.
We try to impart the understanding that we can remain drug-free
under all situations and that the time to begin recovery is now.
We consider facilities in which addicts are sentenced for more
than one year to be "long-term" facilities. Inmates in these
facilities are more likely to maintain their recovery while
incarcerated, so in this type of setting we encourage increased
participation and sharing by the inmates. Their participation
can be anything from setting up the chairs for the meeting to
starting the meeting. In a long-term facility this H&l meeting
may be the only NA recovery these addicts will experience for
years. Encouraging them to be more directly involved helps them
follow the program throughout their incarceration. The type of
profound changes in an individual's attitude, thinking, and
behavior, brought about by working the NA program can have a
positive affect on others around him/her. Inmates who become
involved in their recovery get the opportunity to start
practicing a new way of life before their release. And, by
following a daily program, transition to the community can be a
more positive experience.
Transition from Incarceration to the Community and How NA Helps
An inmate's chance of sustaining recovery and avoiding
recidivism is enhanced with a planned community transition. Some
of the practical information provided by our NA H&l volunteers
will help this. We strongly encourage that inmates make a change
in what we call "playmates, playgrounds and playthings" since
these familiar surroundings can lead to relapse. To help support
the recovering addict we provide meeting directories, NA
phoneline numbers, and urge them to attend a meeting the first
day upon release so they can become connected to new
associations immediately. Sometimes NA members in the community
choose, as individuals, to arrange to meet inmates upon release.
This is not a service provided by our NA H&l volunteers. But
once an inmate arrives at their first NA meeting in the
community, phone numbers are given and exchanged among members.
We suggest that the recently released addict find a sponsor - a
more experienced NA member who will share their suggestions for
following the NA program. Attending daily NA meetings also will
help acclimate them to this new way of living without drugs and
provide needed support in coping with "life on life's terms."
NA H&l meetings also are available to work release, halfway
houses, honor camps, and those facilities which house inmates
after their release from jail or prison and before they are
allowed to fully re-enter society. Because their program
schedules allow for limited attendance at outside NA meetings,
such facilities usually have a low priority for H&l
subcommittees. In that event, we still provide information and
access to the NA program through local meeting directories and
the World Service Office Product Catalog. For a copy of our
product catalog please contact our international headquarters
listed below:
World Service Office
PO Box 9999, Van Nuys, CA 91409
Phone: (818) 773-9999
Fax: (818) 700-0700
Email: wso@na.org
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