Alcoholics Anonymous Meetings in Iowa

What is Alcoholics Anonymous?

Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is an international fellowship of men and women who have had a drinking problem. It is nonprofessional, self-supporting, multiracial, apolitical, and available almost everywhere. AA groups meet regularly to help members achieve sobriety through following the 12-step program.

Central Office

303 Thomas Beck Rd Des Moines, IA 50315

• Monday – Friday: 10 am-4 pm
• Saturday: 10 am-2 pm
• Phone meetings and in-person meetings are available. Call for full schedule.

Jordan House

2208 E 23rd St Des Moines, IA 50317

• Monday – Sunday: 7 am, 12 pm, 5:30 pm, 8 pm
• Closed meetings are open to those with a desire to stop drinking.

10th Avenue Club

725 10th Ave SE Cedar Rapids, IA 52403

• Monday – Friday: 12 pm, 5:30 pm, 8 pm
• Saturday: 10 am
• Sunday: 10 am, 6 pm
• Open speaker meetings. All interested are welcome.

The 12 Steps of AA

AA outlines a 12-step program to help members achieve and maintain sobriety. The steps aim to motivate members toward positive change:

1. We admitted we were powerless over alcohol—that our lives had become unmanageable. Members admit that alcohol has made their lives uncontrollable.
2. Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity. Members start believing in a higher power that can help them regain control.
3. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him. Members decide to put their lives under the guidance of a spiritual entity.
4. Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves. Members thoroughly examine their own behaviors and motivations.
5. Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs. Members disclose the issues caused by their drinking to their higher power, themselves, and others.
6. Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character. Members become willing and open to having their shortcomings removed by the higher power.
7. Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings. Members ask, with humility, for their defects to be lifted by the higher power.
8. Made a list of all the people we had harmed and became willing to make amends with them all. Members make a list of those hurt by their drinking and become ready to make up for the harm done.
9. Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when doing so would injure them or others. Members right the wrongs directly with people from their list, except when it may cause further injury.
10. Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong, promptly admitted it. Members keep monitoring themselves and quickly own up to any wrongs.
11. Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out. Through reflection and prayer, members try to better connect with their higher power, seeking only awareness of their path according to that entity.
12. Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics and to practice these principles in all our affairs. After a spiritual shift prompted by following these steps, members spread the word to help other alcoholics and integrate the principles into all aspects of life.

Getting Started with AA in Iowa

Use the meeting search on wfmh.org to find local meetings in your area. Both in-person and online/virtual meetings are available in most places across Iowa.

Attending Your First Local AA Meeting

AA meetings in Iowa can be “open” or “closed.” Open meetings allow anyone to attend, while closed meetings are for those who have a desire to stop drinking.

When attending your first local AA meeting:

• Arrive early and introduce yourself as a new member.
• Share your experiences if you feel comfortable.

You may receive welcome keychain tags marking sobriety milestones:

• 30 days
• 60 days
• 90 days
• 6 months
• 9 months
• 1 year
• 18 months
• Years 2-30