Our Structure

There are probably as many ways to be of service in NA as there are different personalities among our members. Sponsorship, service at the group level, speaking with newcomers and other forms of service are the backbone of the NA program.

This page does not address these forms of NA service. Rather, it describes the formal service structure of our local fellowship. Much of the information contained on this page is excerpted from: “A Guide to Local Services in Narcotics Anonymous”. copyright 1989, 1990, 1993, 1995, 1996 by World Service Office, Inc.

Introduction

There is only one requirement for NA membership, “a desire to stop using,” but there are many benefits. One of these benefits is the privilege of service.

We who have the disease of addiction spent years of our lives locked up in ourselves. We were cut off from the warmth and fellowship of other human beings; our lives revolved almost exclusively around “getting and using and finding ways and means to get more.” The love that connects one person to another to the next, the selfless service that feeds and houses and clothes and warms and nurtures humankind — of that love, of that selfless service we had no part. That’s why it’s such a privilege in our recovery to be able to serve others, for we come to know ourselves only in looking beyond ourselves, and we keep what we have only by giving it away. By empathizing with other members, by learning to appreciate their needs, by placing them ahead of our own — by these things we learn to love others, and in so doing we learn to love ourselves.

The service we do in our recovery is many things. We take a more active role in our everyday lives, serving others as better friends, better family members, better workers and better citizens. When we find an NA meeting where we feel at home and NA friends with whom we identify, we’ve found a home group, a base for our own recovery and a place where we can serve other addicts by sharing our recovery with them. The time, the experience, the empathy we offer others in our home group we extend even further to those we serve in NA sponsorship. All these way of serving others demonstrate the spiritual awakening of our Twelfth Step, evidenced in our efforts “to carry this message to addicts and to practice these principles in all our affairs.” The information that follows describes additional ways recovering addicts can be of service in NA. Our hope is that this information will serve as a portal to new paths of service for many, many NA members.

Subcommittee List

All subcommittees can be contacted through our contact form. Click on any item below to see additional information on each.

Meets at 1 p.m. on the second Sunday of each month

Please refer to the current meeting list for the location.

Workhorse of the service structure — maybe that’s the best way to describe the Area Service Committee (ASC). Most of the hands-on work of delivering NA services to the groups and the community occurs at the area level.

NA groups support meetings where addicts can share their recovery with one another. Only minimal organization is necessary to hold these meetings. But there’s lots more that can be done to further the aims of Narcotics Anonymous:

• NA panel presentations at addiction treatment centers and correctional facilities can reach addicts particularly in need of what we have to offer.

• Public information presentations to schools and community groups, mailings to addiction treatment professionals, meeting notices in newspapers and public service announcements on local radio and television stations can help direct people to NA.

• Directories showing where and when NA groups in the area hold their recovery meetings can help addicts and others find nearby meetings being conducted at times convenient to them.

• A phoneline service can help addicts seeking recovery find a meeting in their area. It can also provide information about NA to interested community members.

• A ready supply of NA books and pamphlets can make it easier for gropus to stock their literature tables.

• Social activities can help addicts feel more comfortable in their local NA community and increase unity and camaraderie among area members.

All of these services require a certain degree of organization, the comlexity of which could easily divert NA groups from the week-in, week-out task of conducting Narcotics Anonymous meetings for their members. Most of these services also require more money and manpower than any single group could possibly muster. How do groups stay focused on their primary purpose and still see that these other services are developed and maintained? In the words of NA’s Ninth Tradition, they “create service boards or committees directly responsible to those they serve.” And the service committee closest to home, the committee best situated to provide the most direct service to the groups and the community, is the Area Service Committee.

The general mission of our Public Relations (PR) subcommittee is to inform addicts and others in the community of the availability of recovery in Narcotics Anonymous. Services offered by our PR subcommittee vary widely. The simplest kind of PR project is the production and distribution of fliers throughout the community announcing that NA is available and that more information can be had either by calling the local NA helpline, visiting this website or by attending an NA meeting. We also conduct public meetings for community members, distribute public service announcements to local radio and television stations and respond to public media inquiries. Our PR subcommittee cooperates with the local school board, informing students, educators and parents about NA recovery by distributing literature and offering NA presentations to live audiences. We participate in community events, making recovering addicts and literature available at such events. Our PR subcommittee also coordinates the production and distribution of meeting directories and coordinates and maintains this website.
The Hospitals and Institutions (H&I) subcommittee conducts panels that carry the NA message to addicts who often have no other way of hearing our message. Treatment panels are conducted for patients at addiction treatment centers, mental health facilities and therapeutic communities. Correctional panels are held for inmates at jails, prisons and forensic hospitals. The extent to which we are able to carry the NA message into these facilities is directly related to the number of recovering addicts willing to volunteer. We currently have more requests for panels than we can fill. Your service will make a difference in the lives of those who want to stop using drugs but can’t get to regular NA meetings.
Dances, picnics, campouts, special speaker meetings — these events are put on by our Activities subcommittee. Activities like these provide a greater sense of community for the local NA fellowship and at times raise funds which enable us to carry the NA message even further. This subcommittee also works with individual NA groups to help put on functions and serves as a source of information for activities throughout the area.
The Convention subcommittee coordinates and conducts an annual recovery weekend convention. The convention provides a weekend of celebration and unity for all members of NA in the Palm Coast area and members throughout the US and abroad.
The Spiritual Retreat sub-committee plans and coordinates the Palm Coast Area Spiritual Retreat, an activity that enhances the spiritual growth of participating NA members.
The Literature Distribution subcommittee maintains a stock of NA books, pamphlets and related items to sell or distribute to individual NA groups at the monthly ASC meeting.
Outreach subcommittees serve as the outstretched hand of an established NA community to isolated groups and addicts, particularly in large rural areas. By phone, by mail and by car they make sure that no group and no addict has to go it alone if at all possible. The subcommittee helps keep geographically isolated groups and addicts in touch with the mainstream of the NA fellowship. The Palm Coast Area currently has a handful of meetings which are located in the far western portion of Palm Beach County (i.e. Belle Glade) which would benefit from such a subcommittee. Also, an Outreach subcommittee could help to support the growth of an NA community in another area of the world, where geographic isolation, economic hardship and other issues present unique challenges to carrying the NA message. We currently do not have an active Outreach subcommittee in this area. If you are interested in helping to form such a committee click here.
The Policy subcommittee reviews old and new ASC policy. It works on incorporating A Guide to Local Services in Narcotics Anonymous into ASC policy, helps to maintain a clear understanding of our ASC policy guidelines, keeps records of new policy and changes to existing policy, updates the ASC policy package as needed and distributes updates to GSRs at the regular ASC meeting.
When needed, AdHoc subcommittees are formed to address issues not addressed by a standing subcommittee. Recent AdHoc subcommittees have focused on such issues as budget policy and financial accountability.