PUBLIC INFORMATION
Area 10 Public Information Committee Meetings
Future PI meetings will be the Second Sunday of each month at 10:00 am at the Denver Central Office,
1800 Boulder Street, Denver, CO 80211
_______________________________________________________________
If you would like more information please contact the PI Chair at
pi@coloradoaa.org.
Purpose
Like
all of A.A., the primary purpose of members involved
with public information service is to carry the A.A. message
to the alcoholic who still suffers. Working together, members
of local Public Information committees convey A.A. information
to the general public, including the media.
What
We Do
Area
10
Public Information has one ultimate goal, and it is the
same as that of every AA group and every type of service
work: To carry the message to the alcoholic who still
suffers, But public information tries to reach the
alcoholic indirectly, as well as directly, in three
ways:
-
By informing
the general public about the AA program
-
By
informing "the
third person" whose work is or may be involved
with the active alcoholic
-
By
keeping the fellowship well-informed, so that members
and groups may carry the message more effectively.
Why
We Do It
Much
of the Public has not had the opportunity to find out how
the AA Program works. There are a great many misconceptions
about AA in the public eye. Unless
we inform the public, many practicing alcoholics may never
find us. The
PI Committee is prepared to meet any group of individuals
that would like information about what AA is and what it
is not.
History
The
1939 publication of our Big Book, Alcoholics Anonymous, was
the first A.A. information available for the public. By 1941,
several articles on A.A. in national publications helped
to encourage understanding and acceptance of A.A. Also significant
were good relations with professionals, such as Dr. W. D.
Silkworth, Rev. Sam Shoemaker and Dr. Harry Tiebout. In
1956, the Public Information Committee of the General Service
Board was formed, with a corresponding Conference P.l. Committee
established in 1961. The General Service Conference established
this policy for A.A. Public Information: " In
all public relationships, A.A.’s sole objective is
to help the still suffering alcoholic. Always mindful of
the importance of personal anonymity, we believe this can
be done by making known to the still-suffering alcoholic,
and to those who may be interested in their problem, our
own experience as individuals and as a fellowship in learning
to live without alcohol. We
believe that our experience should be made available freely
to all who express sincere interest. We believe further
that all efforts in this field should always reflect our
gratitude for the gift of sobriety and our awareness that
many outside of A.A. are equally concerned with the serious
problem of alcoholism." By
1973, the General Service Conference confirmed that “We
must recognize that our competence to speak about alcoholism
is limited in subject matter to Alcoholics Anonymous and
its recovery program.”
How to get
started in Public Information work:
