Western Cape Area Office
Telephone
Fax No:
Email Address
Postal Address
+27 21 418 0908
+27 21 418 0908
westerncape@aasouthafrica.org.za
Unit 502, 5th Floor
Boland Bank Building
18 Lower Burg Street
Cape Town
8001
Meetings In The Western Cape
“Closed” meetings
are for A.A. members only, or for those who have a drinking problem and “have a desire to stop drinking.”
“Open” meetings
are available to anyone interested in Alcoholics Anonymous’ program of recovery from alcoholism. Nonalcoholics may attend open meetings as observers.
Events In The Western Cape
Events
Area Documents
Group Documents
VOLUNTEER GUIDELINES
Part of Bridging the Gap between a treatment program and A.A. is The Temporary Contact Program, which is designed to help the alcoholic in an alcoholism treatment program make the transition into AA. One of the most ‘slipper’ places in the journey of sobriety is between the door of the treatment facility and the nearest A.A. group or meeting.
As a BTG volunteer, you can introduce the program of Alcoholics Anonymous to newcomers. When you sign up as a temporary contact, your name is placed on the Bridge the Gap volunteer list (database), along with the information you provide. When someone in treatment requests a BTG contact, a BTG committee member matches that person’s name with a temporary contact volunteer.
If you agree to become a temporary contact, please take some time to become familiar with the BTG guidelines below.
- Bridging the Gap – GSO Pamphlet P-49
- AA at a Glance – F-1
- Information on AA – F-2
- Primary Purpose Card – F-17
Volunteer’s Commitment:
As a volunteer member of the Bridge the Gap program, your commitment consists of introducing your new contact to the program of Alcoholics Anonymous in his or her community. Treatment facility patients who have signed-up to have a temporary contact will be expecting you to:
- Make arrangements with your contact before they leave treatment. If this is not possible, contact them within 24 hours of their release.
- Familiarize the contact with AA meeting formats and explain what the newcomer can expect at his/her first meeting.
- Attend 3-6 meetings with your contact and introduce the newcomer to other sober members of AA.
- Explain ‘sponsorship’ and possibly provide the pamphlet, ‘Questions and Answers on Sponsorship’.
- Explain the value of having a home group to your contact.
Help the newcomer become familiar with AA literature. - Explain that the book Alcoholics Anonymous is our basic text.
- Provide any form of financial support.
- Become a source of transportation.
- Provide any sort of social or counseling service.
- Debate or offer opinions outside the scope of your experience with the 12 steps of Alcoholics Anonymous.
- Provide medical or psychiatric services. Offer religious services.
- Sponsor the newcomer.
