You can start a C.A. meeting, too. You already have the necessary tools. It takes willingness, commitment, and one or two people with a desire to stay sober and help others do the same. It doesn’t matter if the meeting is large or small. We are told that we “can’t keep what we have unless we give it away.”
Through applying the Twelve Steps and the Twelve Traditions, we grow in love, tolerance, and respect for each other. This spiritual growth allows us to rise above prejudice, regardless of religion, ethnicity, economic status, age, gender, or sexual orientation, to carry the C.A. message. Though we are different, we are the same. Regardless of the author, we share the same story.
The 7th Tradition states that every C.A. group ought to be fully self-supporting, declining outside contributions.
After attending meetings and working with a sponsor on the 12 Steps of C.A., we found that it was vital to carry our message to the still-suffering addict, no matter what age. We walked into C.A. with many questions, but have found that no one is too young to recover in Cocaine Anonymous.
Here are some tips to help you stay clean and sober. Make sobriety your #1 priority, go to meetings daily, get a sponsor and call your sponsor every day, and work the Twelve Steps of Cocaine Anonymous with your sponsor.
Currently, six to ten percent of the United States’ general population are deaf or hard of hearing. Of that number, ten percent are addicts and/or alcoholics (approximately 2 million). Without access to a program of recovery, this very large group of people are again, left to die or fend for themselves.
Our primary purpose is to carry the message of recovery to the addict who still suffers. One way we do this is by holding meetings in hospitals and institutions for people who are not able to attend outside meetings. Institutions served may include, but not be limited to, correctional facilities, sanitariums, detox units, juvenile detention centers, half-way houses and shelters, either governmental or private.
Honesty, open-mindedness and willingness are three spiritual principles at the foundation of our recovery. Without them, a solution cannot be reached. They are not items on a list to be checked off, one at a time. Rather, they become characteristics of our new lease on life. As we become more open-minded, we also become more willing. As our willingness increases, so does our honesty.
Each time we make the effort to have open minds, try something new and end up enjoying ourselves, we add to our recovery foundation. As we grow more spiritually fit, we may find we can participate in activities we chose to forego when we first got sober. Before long, it becomes easy to have fun in recovery. Instead of feeling like we are missing out on having a good time, we become grateful for the new opportunities we have to celebrate being happy, joyous and free.
A Twelfth-Step call is one way for members of Cocaine Anonymous to be of service to others. We should not hesitate to go anywhere to be helpful, while keeping in mind the hopelessness and despair of active addiction. Provided we are spiritually fit, we can offer help to a still-suffering addict at any place and at any time.
