District 16B Corrections Committee

corrections committee

16bcorrections@gmail.com

The purpose of the corrections committee is to coordinate service of individual A.A. members and groups who are interested in carrying our message of recovery to alcoholics behind the walls, and to set up means of smoothing the way from the facility to the larger A.A. community through pre-release contacts.

Prior to 1977, services to correctional facilities and treatment facilities were provided under the umbrella of the Institutions Committee. Because of rapid growth, the 1977 General Service Conference voted to dissolve its' Institutions Committee and two new committees, one on corrections and one on treatment facilities were formed. This division was created to provide better service to groups and meetings in both kinds of facilities.

Committees focus on:

Bringing meetings and literature into facilities
Raising awareness of the Corrections Correspondence Service (C.C.S.) among "inside" and "outside" A.A. members
Helping individuals in custody transition to a local A.A. community through Prerelease Contacts

Tools and Ideas for Doing Corrections Work

Show the video "A New Freedom" at workshops and other events; it has inspired many members to get involved with corrections service. The video is available in 3-, 15- and 30-minute length versions.
Show the DVD "A.A. in Correctional Facilities" to share the professional's viewpoint on the value of A.A. as a resource in correctional facilities.
Create PowerPoint presentations about A.A. corrections service, including photos and discussion topics.
Discuss ways that groups, districts and areas have used to provide more literature for persons in custody - such as passing the "pink can" or a "jail box."
Introduce members to the "Sharing from Behind the Walls" newsletter and highlight the annual Grapevine corrections issue when it comes out in July.
Include local corrections events on area websites.
Introduce someone to corrections service by bringing them to corrections events and/or A.A. meetings "on the inside," or obtain a guest pass to bring them to a meeting behind the wall.
Encourage former persons in custody to share their stories about how A.A. helped them get sober and stay sober while in custody.
Create a calendar of corrections events around U.S. and Canada.
Emphasize that when carrying the message in a correctional facility, we share experience, strength and hope with other alcoholics as we do at any A.A. meeting. Having prison experience is not a prerequisite -- sobriety in A.A. is. Individuals in custody are more interested in learning how we got and stayed sober through A.A.'s Twelve Steps, rather than hearing about time we may have spent in prison.