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Mental health and addiction are inextricably linked. When people heal from addiction, this can also positively impact their overall mental health. For 75 years, across the globe, the 12 Step fellowships and programmes have continued to serve as a pathway to healing and evangelisation, for individuals, families and society as a whole.
12 Steps fellowships represent an opportunity for parishes to follow the example of Jesus in extending their welcome to those living on the margins, suffering from addiction and mental health issues. As Pope Francis has emphasised, the Church must be a place of welcome for all, and the 12 Steps programme offers an opportunity not only to provide a place of refuge for those suffering from what the Pope has called ‘the hell’ of addiction, but a place for them to overcome its rule over their lives.
What are 12 Step fellowships?
12 Step fellowships are peer to peer support groups that use the 12 Step Recovery programme to help people recover from substance addictions, behavioural addictions and emotional compulsions. Some of the most well-known 12 Step fellowships include Alcoholics Anonymous, Gamblers Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, Al-Anon and Overeaters Anonymous. In total, around 30 different ‘Anonymous’ fellowships hold over 7,000 weekly meetings in the UK. Over half of these meetings are held in church halls and church rooms. The Catholic Church is already the third-largest provider of venues behind the Anglican and Methodist churches. These fellowships help tens of thousands of people in the UK to recover from all types of addictions and dependencies. This can, in turn, strengthen families, communities and personal faith.
What is the 12 Step Recovery programme?
The 12 Step Recovery programme is a series of 12 individual ‘steps’ that are designed to generate a spiritual awakening that allows a person to address a particular problem that has become addictive. The 12 Steps can also be used to deal with problem behaviour before it turns into a chronic addiction pattern. The process involves:
How do 12 Step meetings help people?
12 Step Recovery groups help people by introducing them to others facing similar struggles, who provide a willing community of support. They reduce isolation, restore hope and they offer a window into what life without the problematic substance or behaviour can look like. Some members experience a profound and rapid spiritual experience. Others experience a slower more gradual spiritual awakening. But whether quickly or slowly, attendance at 12 Step meetings and progression through a 12 Step programme helps people recover, become healthier, happier, more engaged members of society and many frequently become active members of faith communities.
How can I set up a 12 Step meeting in my parish?
Other than providing the venue itself, and deciding what room booking fees will be payable, very little work or effort will be needed by any parish. 12 Step fellowships are quite decentralised. Each meeting is autonomous whilst adhering to the overall ‘traditions’ of the particular fellowship. 12 Step meetings are usually set up organically when the need or desire arises by a small number of members of that fellowship who want to meet at a particular time and place.
With the ending of Covid restrictions, many meetings that moved to online/zoom format are now looking at getting back into the ‘real world’. Not all venues are fully open yet, so there is a real opportunity in the next 3-6 months for individual Catholic parishes to become a venue of choice. Some churches may be interested in creating a hub venue - where multiple 12 Step fellowships hold regular meetings.
How do I get the message out to people who may be interested?
One way to get the message out would be to put a notice in the Parish Newsletter, announcing that your Church Hall or other meeting room is available for 12 Step Recovery meetings. If your parish would like to arrange a multi-fellowship Public Information (PI) event for potentially interested parishioners, this can be done through the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for the 12 Steps Recovery Programme, who help to organise new 12 Step groups locally. Use the form on the APPG website to book or express your interest in hosting such an event. You can then advertise it through the usual parish channels.
Sample wording for a parish notice newsletter:
“This Summer we are very keen to participate in the National Welcome for 12 Step Recovery programmes, allowing our parish to act as a refuge for those afflicted by the scourges of addiction and compulsive behaviour. If any of our parishioners who are already members of 12 Steps fellowships would be open to a conversation about how to strengthen the involvement of our parish in 12 Step Recovery, then please contact XXXX.
Where can I find out more about 12 Step recovery programmes?
Visit the APPG for 12 Step Recovery website where you will find links to the websites of the fellowships known to be operating in the UK. These individual fellowship websites are valuable sources of information about 12 Step Recovery in each fellowship.
In addition, there will be an All Party Parliamentary Group Evidence Session on ‘The Value of 12 Step Recovery’ held on the 30th of June with speakers Professor Keith Humphrey’s of Stanford University, Dr David Best from University of Derby and Annemarie Ward, CEO FAVOUR UK. If you are interested in attending over Zoom you can register here.
