Recovery Through A.A. Meetings

Despite the small group of students dealing with the issue of having to use the loud and ever-so-crowded Santa Monica College (SMC) cafeteria as a temporary space, they aren't discouraged one bit. Once they settle in, everyone introduces themselves one by one, before admitting to a personal challenge that they all share – alcoholism. To cope with their addictions, they seek help through the Alcoholic Anonymous (A.A.) support offered at SMC.

Tuesday may just be a regular school day for many students, but for members of SMC's A.A., it's a day for members to bond and seek emotional recovery from within the group. During this meeting, members pulled out a book about alcoholism entitled “The Big Book” by William "Bill W." Wilson and promptly turned to chapter five. For 20 minutes, each individual took turns reading personal stories told by people in the book regarding their struggles with alcoholism. After these readings, the group then proceeded to give weekly updates about things that are currently happening in their life. These weekly updates included everything from school related issues to mental health struggles, such as coping with depression.

One student, who wished to stay anonymous, discussed feeling safe with other members of the group during weekly meetings, saying, “I really feel comfortable, I feel more comfortable at these meetings than with my family.”

In addition to feeling at ease during these meetings, the student also feels like life has gotten better since he started going to A.A.

“I feel better; my life has turned around. My life had a lot of problems, but I'm better now,” the student said. “Just know A.A. is always there for you when you’re ready.”

A.A. meetings are still fairly new to SMC, having only been on campus for slightly over a year.

SMC A.A. meetings are open to all SMC students during the Fall 2019 semester. Meetings are held every Tuesday from 11:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. in room 200 of the Liberal Arts Building.