Alcoholics Anonymous Meetings in Louisiana

What is Alcoholics Anonymous?

Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is an international fellowship of men and women who share their experience, strength, and hope with each other so that they may solve their common problem and help others to recover from alcoholism.

Serenity Club

Meetings:

• Monday 8 PM – Open discussion
• Tuesday Noon – Step Study
• Friday 7 PM – Speaker Meeting

Unity Club

Meetings:

• Wednesday 6 PM – Beginners Meeting
• Saturday 9 AM – Big Book Study

Camel Club

Meetings:

• Sunday 10:30 AM – Open Speaker
• Thursday 8 PM – Closed Discussion

The meetings listed offer various types of support, including speaker meetings, open and closed discussion meetings, beginner meetings, step studies, and big book studies. Check local listings for additional meeting times.

The 12 Steps of AA

Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) outlines a 12-step program to help members achieve and maintain sobriety. The steps aim to motivate members toward positive change across Louisiana.

1. We admitted we were powerless over alcohol—that our lives had become unmanageable. Members accept that alcohol has taken control and that willpower alone cannot overcome the addiction.
2. Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity. Members open themselves to turn to a higher spiritual power to regain mental clarity and control.
3. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him. After surrendering control to a higher power, members make a commitment to let their higher power guide them.
4. Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves. Members take an honest look inward at their own flaws and shortcomings.
5. Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs. Members share their moral inventory with their higher power, themselves and another person, fully revealing their transgressions.
6. Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character. Members become willing and open to having their higher power take away their moral flaws.
7. Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings. With humility, members ask their higher power to take away their moral flaws laid out in Step 4 and shared in Step 5.
8. Made a list of all persons we had harmed and became willing to make amends to them all. Members make a list of all those they have harmed due to addiction and commit to making it up to each one.
9. Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when doing so would injure them or others. Whenever safely possible, members directly make amends to those people they have harmed, as outlined in their Step 8 list.
10. Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong, promptly admitted it. Members regularly revisit their moral inventory from Step 4 and quickly admit when they are at fault.
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 contemplative spiritual practices, members strengthen their connection with their higher power, seeking insight into their higher power’s plan for them and their ability to follow that plan.
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 achieving spiritual enlightenment by following these steps, members spread the program’s message and live by its principles.

Getting Started with AA in Louisiana

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 Louisiana.

Attending Your First Local AA Meeting

There are two main types of AA meetings in Louisiana:

• Open Meetings: Anyone is welcome to attend an open meeting, including those who are concerned about someone else’s drinking and students conducting research.
• Closed Meetings: Only those who have a desire to stop drinking may attend closed meetings.

When attending your first local AA meeting in Louisiana:

• Arrive early and introduce yourself as a new local member. There is usually a greeter who welcomes newcomers.
• Share your experiences if you feel comfortable. There is often time set aside for members to share.

You may receive welcome keychain tags at your first meeting to mark milestones in your recovery journey, such as:

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

Sharing at meetings is always optional. The most important thing is that you keep coming back. AA meetings provide a supportive community as you work through the challenges of addiction and sobriety.