12-step programs still prove good.

Great news for the people on treatment waiting lists, for the addicts still out there and for friends and families affected by substance abuse and the disease of addiction. There is an answer! The answer is right under our noses, in our own communities. There are no waiting lists. Everyone has access to it. You don't need insurance. As a matter of fact, it doesn't cost a thing.

This treatment has been around for more than 70 years and has an estimated 2 million members in more than 180 countries. Alcoholics Anonymous is free and available to everyone. And for the many who are addicted to drugs, Narcotics Anonymous is available at no charge. NA has been in existence for at least 50 years and can be found in 116 countries.

AA and NA are fellowships of men and women recovering from their addiction by sharing their experience, strength and hope with each other. The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop drinking and using. AA and NA are not allied with any sect, church, organization, institution or politics. The primary purpose is to stay clean and sober and help other alcoholics and addicts achieve a clean and sober life. A drug addict may attend an AA meeting and an alcoholic may attend an NA meeting. Both meetings address the problems of, and solutions to, addiction.

Anonymity is of the utmost importance in AA and NA. If people attending the meetings don't feel safe there, they won't come. So it is imperative that anyone attending a meeting does not disclose whom they saw or what they heard there.

Many people today seem to be under the impression that recovery can't happen unless you go to rehab or a treatment center. Going to a treatment center is not a prerequisite for getting clean and sober. There are thousands of people who have recovered from addiction without having gone to a treatment center. In Alcoholics or Narcotics Anonymous no drugs are dispensed to help the addict through withdrawal or cravings. If something has been prescribed for withdrawal, it is still permissible to attend AA and NA meetings. However, the agony of a chemical-free withdrawal can serve as a much needed impetus to staying clean and sober. Most addicts who have fought their way through withdrawal never want to experience it again. In the long run, a chemically unaided withdrawal leaves the addict chemically dependent on nothing. The addict has shaken, vomited, hallucinated and cried his or her way into a new beginning.

If addicts do use a detox and/or treatment center, it is imperative they have support when they leave the center. Many addicts and alcoholics find it impossible to stay clean and sober on their own.

Alcoholics or Narcotics Anonymous is a "we" program. We understand like no one else can. We help each other recover, we offer the love and support an addict needs to stay clean and sober one day at a time, for a lifetime.

In the rooms of AA and NA we have found understanding, hope, unconditional love, laughter, forgiveness, honesty, freedom and a spirituality that pulled us towards recovery even when every cell in our bodies cried for a fix. We have been blessed with a second chance at everything. Dreams we had but could never achieve while we were using are now made possible every day that we stay clean and sober.

For concerned community groups wondering what they can do, open your schools and churches to AA and NA, Alanon and Alateen meetings and then attend the appropriate meetings. Alateen and Alanon meetings offer incredible support for the families and friends of alcoholics and addicts. Offer to have clean and sober dances, support recovery meeting houses.

For those families who are currently struggling to get their loved ones into treatment, go to Alanon or Alateen. Become aware of your own behavior and attitudes towards using drugs and alcohol. Work the steps yourself and see what it does for you. Encourage your loved one to attend AA or NA meetings until a bed becomes available to them.

For the addict hoping to recover, when you are desperate enough, while you are waiting months for a bed in a treatment center, come try AA or NA. We'll be there waiting for you. We will love you through the darkest days of your life.

Bangor Daily