I have belonged to the same home group for 25+ years, ever since I moved to the county that I live in. I think that one of the reasons that I have been sober as long as I have is that I have a home group.
My home group is a place where people know me. By “know me”, I mean that they know my first and my last name, my address, what I do for a living. Many of my home group members know my family. We have attended weddings and funerals and other ceremonies together.
It is so important for me to have a place to go to where I feel comfortable being myself. Recovery can be challenging sometimes, and I need a place to go to where I feel comfortable sharing my truth. My home group is such a place.
My home group is also a place where newcomers thrive. We ask at every meeting for people who are willing to be sponsors, and we regularly have 30-40 people who volunteer to do so.
I have a very strong home group. We do service commitments (prisons, hospitals, rehabs), and we contribute to AA as a whole (GSO, Intergroup, our local Area and District). Many home group members enjoy fellowship together (coffee, meals, sporting events and concerts). And we have a lot of recovery in our group. One time we did a count of sobriety, and counted over 1000 years of sobriety in the room. On most days, we have 2-3 people with 40+ years, twenty or so with 30+ years, and lots and lots of people with 10 or 20 years sober. On most days, we have 100 or more people attending our meetings.
I need the help of sober people to stay sober. At the end of my active alcoholism, I tried the “I can do it myself” method, and I failed several times. I failed so badly that I now know that the only way I can stay sober is with the help of sober alcoholics.
I find those sober alcoholics at my home group. I sometimes share at my group that “I can’t share this stuff in the deli line at the supermarket”. If I did share my stuff in the deli line, I think people would probably leave that line!
When I come to my home group, I am with kindred spirits. They are people just like me-trying to stay sober, and help someone else to achieve sobriety, one day at a time.
With Love,
The Recovering Urchin
