AA forum tackles role in changing world

More than 100 members of Alcoholics Anonymous from western and northern Canada met on the weekend to celebrate their sobriety.

Winnipeg was host to a regional forum held every eight years, and topics included how to keep the support group's original 12-step program working in a world that's constantly changing.

"It's one of North America's most successful social movements," said Leonard Blumenthal, chairperson of AA's general service board in New York.

Blumenthal, a former director with the Alberta Alcohol and Drug Abuse Commission, said he got involved with AA because it works.

The voice of experience is key, said Blumenthal, who was once an alcohol treatment counsellor.

"Get them talking to someone else in recovery," said Blumenthal, who is not an alcoholic. "I'm convinced it's what works in the long term."

Since it was started in the late 1930s in New York, AA has spread to 180 countries. The organization has more than 1.5 million members in North America alone. The program has recently spread to Mongolia, Bahrain, China and Cameroon.

London Free Press