Alcoholics Anonymous Meetings in Florida

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 that they may solve their common problem and help others to recover from alcoholism.

Jacksonville

Meetings:

• Monday – Friday at noon – Open speaker discussion
• Tuesday at 7:30 pm – Closed 12-step study

Orlando

Meetings:

• Monday at 8:00 pm – Big Book study meeting
• Wednesday at 6:30 pm – Open speaker meeting
• Saturday at 10:30 am – Open discussion

Miami

Meetings:

• Monday at 7 pm – Step meeting
• Friday at noon – Speaker meeting
• Sunday at 5:30 pm – Beginners meeting

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 Florida.

1. We admitted we were powerless over alcohol—that our lives had become unmanageable.
2. Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
3. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.
4. Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
5. Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
6. Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.
7. Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.
8. Made a list of all the people we had harmed and became willing to make amends with them all.
9. Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
10. Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.
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.
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.

The 12 steps aim to help members take responsibility for their alcoholism, seek support, make amends, and dedicate themselves to helping others find sobriety. The program provides a structured path to motivate alcoholics toward positive change.

Getting Started with AA in Florida

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

Attending Your First Local AA Meeting

Florida has both open and closed AA meetings:

• Open meetings – Anyone can attend, including non-alcoholics. These focus on introducing newcomers to AA.
• Closed meetings – Only those with a desire to stop drinking may attend. These involve more sharing by members.

Arrive 10-15 minutes early and introduce yourself as a new local member. Share your experiences if you feel comfortable. Many groups give welcome keychain tags to celebrate sobriety milestones:

• 30 days
• 60 days
• 90 days
• 6 months
• 9 months
• 1 year
• 18 months
• Years 2 through 50

Sharing at meetings helps establish support and accountability. Over time, you’ll connect with members who can offer help during challenging periods. While each person’s path is unique, the shared wisdom and care of the AA community provides invaluable guidance along the road of recovery.