Members/Groups
If you're looking to strengthen either your personal recovery or your local group, this page is for you!
If you'd like to improve your personal recovery, try any or all of the following:
- Get an abstinent sponsor to guide you as you work the 12 steps. Please see https://oa.org/faqs/categories/sponsorship for further information.
Greater Pittsburgh Intergroup does not maintain a list of members available to sponsor. In addition to the suggestions given above, we suggest that you use the contact numbers on our meeting list or GPI Service Roster to reach out and ask about sponsorship and/or available sponsors at their groups.
- If you are abstinent and have worked at least the first three steps, be a sponsor
- Attend a new meeting
- Attend a Face to Face meeting if you've only been to Telephone or Online meetings, if possible
- Get a home group (a home group is a meeting which you commit to attend regularly and where you get involved in service)
- Sign up for the GPI Email List and bring information back to your group
- Serve as your group's Designated Downloader and bring information back to your group
- Call a newcomer or other member of your group and see how they're doing
- Call someone you haven't seen at meetings in awhile, ask how they're doing, and let them know that you miss them
- If someone you know has trouble getting to Face to Face meetings, offer to drive them if possible
- If you know someone having difficulty with Zoom meetings and you have the skills/ability, set up a phone call or plan to visit with them so you can help them
- Sign up to chair your home group or another meeting you attend
- Take a service position at your home group or another meeting you attend
- Serve on a GPI Committee
- If there are no meetings in your area, start one. See Start a Meeting for information and suggestions.
The following documents offer suggestions to enhance your personal recovery.
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Homebound Support
This is not a new section on our website, but COVID-19 has brought the challenges of working the program while housebound to the forefront for all of us!
Some OA members go through periods where, for a number of reasons, they are physically unable to go out to meetings. During this time, we miss our face to face meetings--the fellowship, lingering after the meeting for hugs and to catch up. With this is mind, the 12th Step Within Committee discussed some ways for us to strengthen our personal connections, and offers the following to help deal with isolation:
- Find a call in/text in buddy for every day connection
- Join or make a texting group that participants can share their ESH (experience, strength, and hope) throughout the day
- Share through text or email a quote from OA/AA literature that helps us (could be a slogan or a tool)
- Attend multiple virtual meetings
- After the meeting is concluded, stay on the line to catch up with others, offer service by answering questions for newcomers, or to talk about sponsorship
- Call, text, or email someone you haven't spoken with in a while
- Offer service to those with mobility issues by calling them or even sending an encouraging note
- Commit your meal plan to another person through text or email each day
- Start a 4th step, 10th step call in group and talk about how we work them
We all miss our personal connections when housebound and need to find other ways to fulfill this vital part of our program. Share your ideas with us at committee_12within@gpioa.org. What helps you?
In addition to the many virtual meetings available, the following websites with speakers and podcasts may be of assistance:
Don't forget about the 7th Tradition if you're taking advantage of these online resources! It's not free for these groups, intergroups, or regions to maintain these websites and provide this valuable service.
back to Homebound Support
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Group Support
Want to make your local group even better? Try any or all of the following:
- Compare your meeting to the Strong Meeting Checklist; how does the group compare and what needs to improve or change?
- If your meeting is a Face to Face meeting, does your meeting have a secretary, treasurer, literature person, Intergroup representative, designated downloader and newcomer greeter? If not, are you able to take on one of these positions?
- If your meeting is an Online meeting, does your meeting have a
- If your meeting is a Telephone meeting, does your meeting have a secretary, treasurer, literature person (if necessary), Intergroup representative, designated downloader and newcomer greeter? If not, are you able to take on one of these positions?
- See if your group would be willing and able to sponsor a workshop on an OA topic
- See if your meeting would be willing and able to sponsor an OA event such as the OA birthday, Unity Day, Sponsorship Day, IDEA Day, or 12th Step Within Day
- Find our when your group was founded and plan a special celebration for your group's anniversary
The following documents offer insights which can improve your local group.
Additional resources are available by selecting "Meeting Resources" at https://oa.org/document-library/.
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