What does “public outreach” mean to you on a personal level?
Please share your experiences by commenting on the topic below. The opinions expressed here are strictly those of the person who gave them. Take what you liked and leave the rest. Member sharing on the Member Blog may be used in future Al‑Anon publications.
June’s topic is, “What does ‘public outreach’ mean to you on a personal level?”
“…members carry the message of recovery to others…”(p.120 in the 2022-20225 Service Manual). I am grateful to my friend who shared Al-Anon with me and took me to my first Al-Anon meeting. I am grateful to those members in many countries who took the time to smile and make me feel welcome in the registered Al-Anon Family Group e- meetings I logged into around the world. Today I can share a WSO social media post to anyone, anywhere and at anytime and the Al-Anon Faces Alcoholism (AFA) may be shared from the al-anon.org website! I am able to carry the… Read more »
What does ‘Public outreach’ mean to me on a personal level? I feel that I am lucky because the District that lives in has wonderful members that do public outreach in the area. There are two members that work on the outreach together. They set up at different informational programs about town like the Colleges and other areas. They also take information about Al-Anon to churches, counselors, and doctors in the area. They were working on giving information about Alateen to schools until Coved started. I have helped at one of the events and passed out information to the churches.… Read more »
Public outreach is very personal to me. Many years ago, I was participating in a family week as part of the treatment facility my husband was in. There was a Thursday night Al-Anon group in Anchorage Alaska, that sent a panel to that family week once a month. They came and spoke to us and then invited us to follow them back to their meeting. That was the meeting that turned my life around. I don’t know if I would have been there if it hadn’t been that very same night, if I would have had to get myself there… Read more »
Public Outreach to me is sharing this wonderful program. I have said at the tables “Every human when born needs to be given a gift certificate to Al-Anon, because it teaches us how to live with humans”. I love sharing Al-Anon information. I talk about it amongst my friends and co-workers when asked. I have been surprised how many people have come up to ask me about Al-Anon out of the blue. They have heard me say I am a grateful member of Al-Anon. Some may ask me just what it is about and I gladly tell them. I leave… Read more »
For me public outreach over the years has meant a few different roles. One time I was a group’s public outreach coordinator and this meant bringing the Al-Anon public service message (then on a Digital Disk) to all the local cable stations in our area and ask that it be put into their service message rotation. I hope many people heard about our program this way. Sometimes it was dropping off materials like Al-Anon flyers and leaflets at local police stations, treatment centers and counseling centers. There is a special “Remember to Forget” activity that anyone can do anytime of… Read more »
Public Outreach is a way of me telling myself I’m working the program by giving back!
That is a good feeling for me!
Public outreach is part of Step 12. It can take many forms, most involving service, from very personal service such as calling or emailing a new member to participating in health fairs or speaking at combined Al-Anon and AA functions. I have put up Al-Anon posters in public places, dropped off Al-Anon Faces Alcoholism in places where copies might introduce people to our fellowship, and participated in Al-Anon commitments to bring the message to institutions that serve families.My primary care physician has become helpful in getting Al-Anon literature into the hospital where families visit loved ones admitted for detox. But… Read more »
Great topic. What this means to me is said best by Al-Anon’s ‘Responsibility Statement’ (Let It Begin with Me – When anyone, anywhere, reaches out for help, let the hand of Al‐Anon and Alateen always be there, and ‐ Let It Begin with Me – ref: https://al-anon.org/pdf/P24.pdf ). What it does NOT mean to me is, per our traditions and concepts, promoting. What it DOES mean to me is doing my part in ‘publicizing’ the existence of Al-Anon (leaving literature in the office of a family practice physician, letting clergy know I’m available to talk with anyone who they may encounter… Read more »
To me, “public outreach” means practicing these principles in all my affairs. This means not leaving my attitude of attention, acceptance, and willingness in a meeting, or even in my close circle of friends or family, but allowing it to lead me in my professional and public life. I may not say anything about “Al-Anon”; and it isn’t always wise or safe to talk about my experience with alcoholism to those outside the program. But does this mean I don’t reach out? Actions speak louder than words; and tone speaks louder than whatever it is I’ve set out to say.… Read more »
When I hear public outreach I think “Let it Begin With Me”. When I provide compassion, encouragement, and understanding to others I am doing public outreach. One of our daily readers talks about the best sermon is being a living example of practicing the principles of the program in all our affairs. After all the chaos we have been through over the past few years my perspective has really changed. I want to see diversity in the meeting rooms. I want to see Al-Anon’s miracles working for all people and not just retired white women. I want to really dig… Read more »
Public outreach first meant to me that new members of our group usually came from Public Outreach work done by our group, our district, our area, or the World Service Office. I was grateful for their presence in our meetings. Members of my home group were involved in carrying the message of our wonderful program out into our community. In fact, one of them wrote a column for our area newsletter called “Carrying the Message”. I began hearing how my home group members involved themselves in Public Information projects, as it was called then, and I was invited to join… Read more »
When I first came to Al-Anon, I thought of public outreach as simply the public service announcements (PSAs), pamphlets and contact with professionals that “other people” in the World Service Office (WSO) did. Today my understanding is much broader and more personal. I’ve learned that we each have an opportunity to participate in these outreach efforts in different ways. I believe we also have a responsibility for outreach because this is our program, our fellowship. I’ve learned that outreach is actually being of service, and being of service is a critical part of my own recovery. “Other people” can’t do… Read more »
Public outreach on a personal level for me is not keeping the program a secret. When I encounter people who share with me the similar troubles that I struggled with prior to the program, I don’t insist they must join this program. I simply share with them what it has done for me. In practicing the principles of the program, I am sharing my experience, strength and hope while allowing them to make their own decision.
Public Outreach for me, on a personal basis, means abundance and gratitude. After being in the program for a short while, I came to understand that I had a role and some responsibilities when it came to Public Outreach. I have received in abundance from this program and it is my responsibility to give in return. I have been lucky, because the alcoholics in my life have never had restrictions when it came to let people, that I was a member of Al-Anon. I always freely let people around me: doctors, social workers, my students, members of my family, my… Read more »