On May 1, 2020 we shared the following message in the update that was sent out to our subscribers to The Buzz, our electronic newsletter:
We are looking ahead and hope to make the transition back to physical meeting rooms as smooth as possible. Along those lines, we are hoping to get a strong response to our Shelter-in-Place survey which will support that effort. In it, we seek to find out about meeting disruptions, self-support and what things might look like ahead.
We hoped that the questions would be thought-provoking and stir members toward conversation about what would come next. We were optimistic that the results would yield experience, strength and hope that we could pass on to make a smooth transition back to our physical meeting rooms.
As much as possible, Intergroup hopes to facilitate a transition that supports the fellowship in being stewards of AA for the future. What will the transition look like? What will meetings look like? Will groups return to their old spaces as if nothing happened? Will groups continue to meet online, or perhaps as a hybrid of both online and in a physical space?
We assumed there would be local and state requirements, as well as those of individual meeting facilities that we will need to incorporate and abide by. Per our fourth Tradition, each group will continue to be autonomous, within the structure of the wider communities in which we exist.
With information from the survey and from conversation with other areas and service entities, we wanted to provide our members with tools to create best practices for the new normal. As always, they will be offered as suggestions and in support of AA as a whole.
On May 22, with 289 members responding, we closed the survey. We shared the results at our June Intergroup meeting and are posting them here for you, too:
Shelter-in-Place Survey Results
Our next steps were to take this information, along with the information we’ve seen from State and Local officials regarding the next phase of reopening, and put together considerations for resuming physical meetings.
We will present this resource at our first ever virtual Town Hall, on Thursday, June 18 from 6:30 to 8:30 PM and hope you will join us. We will also have time for an open dialog about working together as a community. Details and registration information can be found here.
