by Bree L.
Meetings in the Bayview can be few and far between, but there is one excellent speaker discussion meeting on Saturday morning. The address is 5048 Third Street at Revere. The meeting is in a brand-new well-lit building with hot coffee and a nice array of pastry from Daly City Donuts. Arrival at 8:00 a.m. is an hour before parking restrictions are enforced. The meeting recently moved to the new Salvation Army Impact Center. This new building is open during the weekdays and is dedicated to helping people with everything from legal or financial problems to everyday domestic concerns.
A brand-new, well-lit building with hot coffee and a nice array of pastry from Daly City Donuts
Mike M., who started the meeting in 2013, says there were no A.A. meetings in the Bayview, Excelsior or the Crocker Amazon area where he lived. He was in touch with the Salvation Army on Third Street. They actively supported 12-Step meetings and offered their storefront location for after-hours meetings. Prior to that there had been a meeting at the public library on Revere and Third but that folded. As Mike says, there may be 600 plus meetings in San Francisco but few in the Bayview.
The building is easy to find and there is ample street parking. The meeting moved around a year ago from the old Salvation Army storefront a couple blocks away. It had a much smaller meeting area with a small loft for the speaker. All in all, the Salvation Army was wonderfully supportive about starting a meeting in the Bayview. A few representatives still attend the meeting as sober A.A. members.
The speakers speak, then return for their own recovery
This is a speaker discussion meeting with two rotating secretaries who have the uncanny ability to find excellent speakers. One secretary attends West Bay Alano club searching for potential speakers. Another brings speakers from El Sobrante. Not to mention the excellent pool available in San Francisco.
There’s a strong foundation of members who regularly attend. Judith K. has been sober since 1981. She says there was one N.A. meeting in the Bayview when she moved there in 2012. She came to the Salvation Army storefront location for many years. It was makeshift, but it was a meeting and that was what she needed.
Steve R. is also a regular on Saturday mornings. He came along with Mike to those first meetings when there were only three or four people. Steve says many who now attend started out first as speakers, since Wake Up is a speaker discussion meeting. When he was the secretary/ speaker-getter, many of the speakers came from the Hilldwellers Monday evening meeting on Potrero Hill. This is a theme with the speakers: they speak and then return for their own recovery.
The regulars also include those with single digit recovery. Brad O. discovered Wake Up after completing his 30 days. He also just completed a secretary stint. There’s Jamey R., the coffee maker extraordinaire, who supplies the delicious Top of the Hill Cafe donuts. Jamey says the timing is perfect as she comes over from Daly City. Eight o’clock in the morning works for her exercise schedule. If you are looking for meeting to start your weekend, Wake Up on Third is a great choice. Easy parking, great coffee, donuts and terrific speakers to aid you along on your path to recovery.
