A peer-led support network for families dealing with addiction and recovery
Learn to Cope (LTC) is a group that helps families who have loved ones struggling with addiction. It started in 2004 in Massachusetts and has grown to help families all over the country. Learn...
Recovery from addiction is a journey unique to each individual, marked by their challenges and triumphs.
Here, we explore five vital resources that offer free recovery programs, each catering to different needs and recovery philosophies.
Alcoholics Anonymous (AA)
Alcoholics Anonymous is perhaps the most well-known recovery program...
by Kim Wilson
LifeRing Secular Recovery is an organization of people who share practical experiences and sobriety support. There are as many ways to live free of drugs and alcohol as there are stories of successful sober people. LifeRing provides support through local in-person meetings,...
Alcoholics Anonymous can be found in approximately 180 nations worldwide. In the United States, A.A. consists of an estimated 61,900 groups and nearly 1.3 million members (as of January 2018).
Every member of Alcoholics Anonymous first learned about A.A. somehow. Perhaps a seed of sobriety...
Wellbriety is a culturally-based program that provides healing opportunities geared toward indigenous people. While it is a 12-step initiative, Wellbriety strives to help people heal from addictions by tapping into cultural and spiritual practices that may have been lost to many Native people along...
SMART is an acronym for Self Management and Recovery Training.
SMART Recovery is a nonprofit organization that offers support to anyone who desires to abstain from addictive behaviors, whether that be substances or activities; it offers this support primarily through online and/or in-person meetings.
“We refrain...
Overcoming the Invisible Addiction of Problem Gambling
By the time I talk to Mainers who are experiencing gambling problems, they are usually desperate. They have lost money, relationships, and sometimes their home, job, or business. They are feeling hopeless. They want to stop gambling, and...
From Personal Struggles to Guiding Others
As a recovering alcoholic and an active member of Alcoholics Anonymous, I willingly offer my services as a sponsor to take other men through the 12-Step process as I was led through it years ago. A key principle...
The mutual benefits of Sponsorship in AA
Often we compare the long descent into addiction to walking into the woods and getting lost. One day we realize that we have strayed far from the path we wanted to take and instead are disoriented, alone and...
The photo of A.A. Co-Founders Bill W. and Bob S. is included with permission of Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc. (“A.A.W.S.”), all rights reserved. Permission to use this photo does not mean that A.A.W.S. has reviewed or approved this publication, or that A.A. necessarily...
