About Al-Anon
What is Al-Anon?
Al-Anon Family Groups (often shortened to just “Al-Anon”) is a fellowship of relatives and friends of alcoholics whose lives have been affected by another person’s drinking.
Al-Anon is a mutual support recovery program, in which members provide each other with experience, strength, and hope to aid in their common problems.
How can Al-Anon help me?
Alcoholism is a complicated problem, and is often accompanied by many related challenges. No magic solution can enable you to help someone stop—or even reduce—their alcohol use. Al-Anon meetings can provide an opportunity to learn from others who have faced similar circumstances and can help you better cope.
Members of Al-Anon often come to see problem drinking as a family illness that affects everyone within the household. By listening to others speak at meetings, individuals may begin to recognize their own role within these family or friend dynamics. Again, there are no simple or guaranteed answers, but Al-Anon helps make this complexity more manageable by encouraging a “One Day at a Time” approach—focusing on your own progress and behavior in small, manageable steps.
How can Al-Anon help me?
Alcoholism is a complicated problem, and is often accompanied by many related challenges. No magic solution can enable you to help someone stop—or even reduce—their alcohol use. Al-Anon meetings can provide an opportunity to learn from others who have faced similar circumstances and can help you better cope.
Members of Al-Anon often come to see problem drinking as a family illness that affects everyone within the household. By listening to others speak at meetings, individuals may begin to recognize their own role within these family or friend dynamics. Again, there are no simple or guaranteed answers, but Al-Anon helps make this complexity more manageable by encouraging a “One Day at a Time” approach—focusing on your own progress and behavior in small, manageable steps.
Al-Anon is not allied with any sect, denomination, political entity, organization, or institution… it neither endorses nor opposes any cause.
There are no dues for membership. Al-Anon is self-supporting through its own voluntary contributions.
Research suggests that when individuals struggling with alcohol-use enter recovery programs, their chances of success may increase when family members participate in programs such as Al-Anon.
Newcomer Resources
Free Downloads
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![Sign with blue background and white text asking if the viewer is troubled by someone's drinking, explaining that Al-Anon is for them, and listing nine questions to help decide if they need Al-Anon.]()
Are you troubled by someone's drinking?
Twenty questions for people who may have grown up with a problem drinker to help decide if they can benefit from Al-Anon.
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![Photo of a pamphlet, welcoming you to your first AI-Anon meeting, providing mutual support for friends and family of problem drinkers, with a purple gradient background and the AI-Anon Family Groups logo at the bottom.]()
Getting Started with Conference Approved Literature (CAL)
In addition to meetings, there is also a wide range of Al‑Anon and Alateen literature that deepens our understanding of alcoholism and its effects.
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![A card titled "Just for Today", emphasizing living in the moment, happiness, self-acceptance, personal growth, and kindness.]()
Just for Today
Al-Anon ideas for making each day special and reminders for focusing on the present.
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![Informational poster about detachment, explaining that it is neither kind nor unkind, and discussing its role in managing alcohol addiction and emotional health.]()
Detachment
Detachment allows us to let go of our obsession with another’s behavior and begin to lead happier, more manageable lives, with dignity and rights, guided by a Power greater than ourselves.
Newcomer Resources
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![Photo of a pamphlet, welcoming you to your first AI-Anon meeting, providing mutual support for friends and family of problem drinkers, with a purple gradient background and the AI-Anon Family Groups logo at the bottom.]()
Welcome Newcomer (eBooklet)
This eBooklet introduces newcomers to basic information about the Al-Anon program. Select the button below to visit the main Al-Anon website, where welcome packets can be purchased for $1.40 and viewed on major platforms.
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Al-Anon Faces Alcoholism: Help & Hope
Al‑Anon Faces Alcoholism shares the perspectives of Al‑Anon members and professionals on how Al‑Anon Family Groups can help people troubled by someone else’s drinking.
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How Can I Help Them Quit Drinking?
Finding a healthier way to respond to these challenges may prove helpful.
Free Downloadable Items
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Are you troubled by someone's drinking?
Twenty questions designed to see if you have been affected by the excessive drinking of someone close to you. This may help you decide if Al-Anon is right for you.
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Did you grow up with a problem drinker?
Twenty questions for people who may have grown up with a problem drinker to help decide if they can benefit from Al-Anon.
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Getting Started with Conference Approved Literature (CAL)
In addition to meetings, there is also a wide range of Al‑Anon and Alateen literature that deepens our understanding of alcoholism and its effects.
-
Just for Today
Al-Anon ideas for making each day special and reminders for focusing on the present.
-
Detachment
Detachment allows us to let go of our obsession with another’s behavior and begin to lead happier, more manageable lives, with dignity and rights, guided by a Power greater than ourselves.