Service Structure
Members of Al-Anon Family Groups serve as the broad-based foundation for the fellowship.
To conduct its business, the Al-Anon/Alateen fellowship has several service arms:
Groups, Districts, Areas, and World Service
The most basic is the Group meeting where two or more people come together to share their experience, strength, and hope and find tools to help themselves. A group’s members take responsibility for the operation of their meetings, including positions such as Chair or Secretary and Treasurer. These individuals help the group to be available to members learning the tools of recovery.
Beyond the group level is the District Meeting which connects us to the Northern California World Service Area (NCWSA) and World Service Office (WSO). Our district holds monthly business meetings. All groups, including Alateen, elect a group representative (GR) to represent them at the district meeting. GRs and all qualified members are eligible to become officers and coordinators at the District level.
- District Representative (DR - Officer) - Organizes and chairs monthly District Meetings and related duties, assists the NCWSA Delegate in informing the groups, keeps in touch with GRs and visits groups in the district, and is able to sign checks for district account. This individual must have served as a GR previous to being elected as DR to at three-year term which normally coincides with election of NCWSA Delegate and NCWSA Officers and Coordinators.
- Alternate District Representative (Alt GR - Officer) - Attends all meetings DR attends, completes DR term if needed, assists with District Meetings, aids in visiting district groups, may organize and present study of service topics at District Meetings, and may serve in additional service capacity such as Alateen District Process Person as needed.
- Recording Secretary - Records and keeps the District Meeting minutes, and related group records.
- Treasurer – Receives and disperses monies for the district.
- Coordinators - Are responsible for duties like Budget, Alateen, Website, Events, Beginners Meeting, Mail, Meeting Lists, Public Outreach, Institutions, and more.
The next arm of Al-Anon service is the Area. District 11 is part of the Northern California World Service Area (NCWSA) Area 3. District Representatives from all 27 districts in our area meet several times a year as the Northern California World Service Committee (NCWSC) with the officers and coordinators of NCWSA to facilitate area business. The actual business meetings for NCWSA are the Assemblies, when GRs from across Northern California gather to do the formal area business. These meetings are currently the third weekend in October, and one day in the spring.
The arms which serve Al-Anon and the larger fellowship are:
- World Service Conference (WSC) - the gathering of delegates from all areas worldwide at their annual meeting, currently in April.
- World Service Office (WSO) - provides an office clearinghouse for Al-Anon/Alateen worldwide, and publishes the Conference-Approved Literature (CAL) for use by any Al-Anon groups and individuals. WSO also links with the General Service Offices (GSO), outside of the United States.