Alcoholics Anonymous Meetings in New Jersey

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

AA meetings are free to attend and open to anyone seeking help with an alcohol use disorder. There are many AA meetings held regularly across New Jersey. Here are the details of a few local meetings:

Metuchen Group

Meetings:

• Monday at 8:00 pm (Closed Meeting for Alcoholics Only)
• Friday at 8:00 pm (Open Speaker Meeting – Open to Alcoholics and Non-Alcoholics)

Asbury Park Group

Meetings:

• Sunday at 7:00 am (Asbury Big Book Meeting – Open)
• Wednesday at 7:30 pm (Closed Discussion Meeting)

Margate Group

Meetings:

• Daily at noon (Open Discussion Meeting)
• Saturday at 7:30 pm (Open Speaker 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 New Jersey.

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 addiction, seek support in their recovery, and help others struggling with alcoholism. The program provides a structured path to sobriety through acceptance, spiritual awakening, and service.

Getting Started with AA in New Jersey

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 New Jersey.

Attending Your First Local AA Meeting

There are two main types of AA meetings in New Jersey:

• Open Meetings – Anyone is welcome to attend, including those seeking help or just interested in learning more. These are good options for first-timers.
• Closed Meetings – Only those with a desire to stop drinking may attend. These can provide more intimacy but are not ideal for initial visits.

When attending your first local New Jersey AA meeting:

1. Arrive 10-15 minutes early and introduce yourself as a new member of the local recovery community. This will allow others to welcome you.
2. Share your experiences if you feel comfortable, but do not feel obligated. Listening is just as valuable.

You may receive welcome keychain tags marking sobriety milestones. Common tags given out include:

• 30 days
• 60 days
• 90 days
• 6 months
• 9 months
• 1 year
• 18 months
• Multiple years

The most important things are attending regularly and finding meetings where you feel comfortable. The AA community will provide support through your sobriety journey.