Corrections facilities, prisons and institutions are fueled by alcohol problems.

In New Zealand 65 per cent of sentenced prisoners were identified as having ongoing drug or alcohol-related problems.

Prisons, Institutions and Alcoholics Anonymous

Working with Prison Inmates

Cooperation with legal and corrections professionals is an ongoing objective of Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous.  It is hoped that such cooperation will reduce the massive problem of addiction.

The resources on this page are intended to inform people working with inmates a little more about what AA is and AA isn't

CORRECTIONS PROFESSIONALS AND INMATES

• A.A. Video for Corrections Professionals

Testimonial: Prisoner Is Released from the Past

The trial officers who convicted me and the victims of my crime have all decided to support my early release from prison. Coincidence? I think not. I've received letters from my former employers who heard of my sobriety and have offered me employment again. These are samples of God doing for me what I could not do for myself.

One of the things I have committed to do in return for God's grace is to immediately become active in an A.A. correctional committee upon my release. Bringing the A.A. message back into jails and prisons is extremely important to me in my own sobriety today.

From experience, I realise that I cannot go back and make a brand new start. But through A.A., I can start from now and make a brand-new end. God's Grace is undeserved favours. Read my story here.

Reprinted from the Big Book, Alcoholics Anonymous
with permission of A.A. World Services, Inc.

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Corrections Facility Kit for A.A. Members

The Corrections Kit is for A.A. members who carry the message of recovery into corrections facilities. Designed by GSO NY, it contains the following items:

Correctional Facility Workbooks and Handbooks

• Corrections Workbook (M-45i) - This service material is intended as a guide for A.A. members involved in Corrections work
• The A.A. Group Handbook for groups that meet in correctional facilities(CF-36)
• A brief guide to Alcoholics Anonymous (P-42)

Books

• A.A. in Prison:  Inmate to Inmate ( Contact Alcoholics Anonymous)

 

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A.A. Pamphlets for Corrections Facilities

Experience based on the functioning of A.A. groups in prisons, with institutional opinions recommending A.A. as a helpful ally. (P-26)

Information about what A.A. is and can do and how groups function in a correctional facility. (P-20)

Basic information for A.A.s who speak in correctional facilities. (F-5)

Answers specific queries on working within A.A. Traditions. (P-29)

Recovery Pamphlets

DVD (for professionals):

• A.A. In Correctional Facilities (D-02) (in pocket)

A.A. Guidelines:

• A.A. Members Employed in the Alcoholism Field (MG-10)
• Cooperation with the Court, DWI (Driving While under the Influence) and Similar Programs (MG-5)
• Correctional Facilities Committee (MG-6)
• Relationship Between A.A. & Al-Anon (MG-8)
• Serving Alcoholics With Special Needs (MG-16)

Service Material:

• Carrying the Message Behind These Walls (F-108)
• Information on Alcoholics Anonymous (F-2)
• About A.A. Newsletter:  The A.A. Program ? Spiritual but Never Religious (F-13 Fall 2003 issue)

Publications:

• About A.A. - Newsletter for Professionals (F-13)
• Box 4-5-9 ( Current and back-issues to 1956 ) (F-36)
• Sharing From Behind The Walls Newsletter (F-97)
• A.A. Grapevine magazine – special inmate issue (in pocket)

Catalogues / Order forms:

• Order Form for P-65, P-66, P-67, P-68 CF Discount Packages (F-52)
• Literature Catalog (F-10)
• Grapevine Catalog (F-40)
• Literature Order Forms (F-60/FS-60)

Other:

• Using the Grapevine and La Viña magazines as tools in corrections service (F-70)
• Using the DVD – A.A. in Correctional Facilities – to carry the message to professionals (F-71)
• New A.A. Correctional Facilities Group Information Form (F-79)
• A.A. Correctional Facilities Group Information Change Form (F-77)
• Central Office/Intergroup Directory (F-25)   (in pocket)
• Correctional Correspondence Service Form for the A.A. member in prison (CCS-2)   (in pocket)
• Corrections Correspondence Flyer for the outside A.A. member (F-26) (in pocket)

• ** History & Actions Trustees’ Committee on Corrections (F-75)
• ** History & Highlights of Actions: General Service Conference Committee on Corrections (F-89)

Prerelease Contact Program

• The A.A. Corrections Prerelease Contact Information for A.A.s on the Inside (F-162)
• The A.A. Corrections Prerelease Contact Program for A.A.s on the Outside (F-163)

_______ **   Both of these documents may be requested in electronic or paper form from the staff member on the assignment. Contents of the Corrections Kit may also be found on the AA GSO NY website.