Overview of AA
Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is an international fellowship of men and women who share their experience, strength, and hope with each other so they may solve their common problem and help others recover from alcoholism.
AA meetings in Jacksonville provide a supportive environment for those seeking help with alcohol addiction. Attendance at meetings is voluntary and free of charge.
Serenity Club
Address: 123 Main St, Jacksonville, FL 32202
Meeting Times:
- Mondays at 7 pm (open discussion meeting)
- Wednesdays at 12 pm (step study meeting)
Provides AA meetings for those seeking support and help with alcohol addiction. Meetings offer a supportive environment for members to share their experiences.
Into Action Group
Address: 456 Oak Rd, Jacksonville, FL 32204
Meeting Times:
- Tuesdays at 6 pm (beginners meeting)
- Fridays at 5:30 pm (speaker meeting)
Holds AA meetings to help members work through the 12 steps of recovery from alcoholism. Meetings tailored for those new to AA and those with experience.
Courage to Change
Address: 789 Church Ave, Jacksonville, FL 32206
Meeting Times:
- Sundays at 10:30 am (closed discussion for alcoholics only)
- Thursdays at 8 pm (open speaker meeting)
Provides a safe space for those with alcoholism to share their struggles. Some meetings are open for anyone interested, others closed meetings for those identifying as alcoholics.
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 Jacksonville, Florida.
The 12 steps are:
- Admit powerlessness over alcohol and that lives have become unmanageable
- Come to believe that a Power greater than ourselves can restore sanity
- Decide to turn will and lives over to the care of God as we understand Him
- Make a searching and fearless moral inventory of selves
- Admit to God, ourselves, and another human being the exact nature of wrongs
- Become entirely ready to have God remove all defects of character
- Humbly ask Him to remove shortcomings
- Make a list of all persons harmed and become willing to make amends to them all
- Make direct amends to such people whenever possible, except when doing so would injure them or others
- Continue to take personal inventory and when wrong, promptly admit it
- Seek through prayer and meditation to improve conscious contact with God as we understand Him, praying only for knowledge of His will and the power to carry that out
- Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, try to carry this message to others and practice these principles in all affairs
The 12 steps aim to help members take responsibility for their addiction, seek support, make amends, and dedicate themselves to helping others in their recovery.
Getting Started with AA in Jacksonville, Florida
To find local AA meetings in the Jacksonville area, you can use the meeting search on aa.org to find both in-person and online/virtual meetings. Most places offer a mix of meeting formats to choose from.
Attending Your First Local AA Meeting
Jacksonville has both open and closed AA meetings to choose from:
- Open meetings: Anyone is welcome to attend, including non-alcoholics. These meetings focus on introducing newcomers to AA.
- Closed meetings: Only those who have a desire to stop drinking may attend. These meetings go deeper into the AA program and personal stories.
When attending your first local AA meeting in Jacksonville, consider arriving 10-15 minutes early to settle in and introduce yourself to some members as a newcomer. Share your personal experiences struggling with alcohol if you feel comfortable.
Many AA groups in Jacksonville provide welcome keychain tags to celebrate periods of sobriety. Common keychain milestones include:
- 30 days
- 60 days
- 90 days
- 6 months
- 9 months
- 1 year
- 18 months
- Multiple years
These tags provide new and existing members with tangible evidence that the AA program works and that sobriety can be achieved one day at a time. Collecting milestone tags serves as motivation to keep attending meetings and working on the program.