Do You Know You Can Do 12-Step Work Via The Mail?
You can help those turning their life around from behind bars, without even entering a facility.
The first option is the pre-release contact program, that links up AAs on the inside that have 6 months or less on their sentence with AAs on the outside, to help assimilate them to the AA way of life once they’re released. Forms are mailed to our district PO box, and our local Corrections Chair coordinates that activity.
The A.A. Corrections Prerelease Contact Program connects the A.A. member being released from prison with Alcoholics Anonymous in their community. When the soon-to-be-released A.A. member writes to us, we match that person to a Prerelease Contact in their community.
If you are interested in this form of service, we will call you, get the okay, and then send you the name of a contact. Many A.A.s involved in this service stress the importance of getting the members formerly in custody to a meeting as soon as possible, usually within the first 24 hours after release. During this time, you help them get acquainted, get phone numbers, perhaps locate a sponsor or home group, and become connected to the local A.A. community. You introduce the newly released members to others in A.A. so they have a broad, healthy base.
In addition, GSO offers Corrections Correspondence —a special kind of A.A. Service
“I know how important our Twelfth Step work is and I enjoy writing to men who are locked up. It is one of the tools that I use to keep me sober. I myself found A.A. in prison almost 20 years ago. And it hasn’t been necessary for me to return to prison since I was released.” —Outside Correspondent
They are in need of A.A. members on the “outside” to correspond with A.A. members in correctional facilities across the U.S. and Canada. Having prison experience is not a prerequisite — sobriety in A.A. is. People in custody are more interested in learning how we got and stayed sober through A.A.’s Twelve Steps, rather than hearing about time we may have spent in prison. It is suggested that members correspond with members of the same gender identity. Currently, we receive more requests from people in custody and we appreciate your participation, which will help us to provide this service to all who seek it. If you would like to share your experience, strength and hope with A.A.s who are confined, email the information to corrections@aa.org. (You can also access the form on the Corrections Committee page on our website at www.aa.org/corrections-committees.)
For more information email: corrections@aadistrict3fl.org
