ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS – PUBLIC INFORMATION

What is PI?

Page 26 of The AA Service Handbook for Great Britain 2023 provides some helpful guidance:

“PI work is sometimes referred to as ‘Carrying the message to the general public’. This includes giving talks to doctors, nurses, social services, police, magistrates, community groups, business groups, schools, colleges and trade and professional unions and associations. Open and public meetings, exhibitions, displays, posters … also come under the heading of PI”.

Talks to local bodies

According to the Structure Handbook (p 26) “It is often said that the best example of Alcoholics Anonymous is its own sober members, particularly where a sober AA member is speaking to the general public or a group of professional people”.

Guidance is given in the Structure Handbook (p 26):

“We are the face of the Fellowship. For this reason, it is important that members carrying out PI work should have solid continuous sobriety, regular attendance at home group meetings, be conversant with the service structure and have a full working knowledge of the Twelve Traditions.

Experience has shown that intergroup and regions are the bodies that can most usefully discuss PI matters and from which one or more PI committees can be formed.”

Against that background, I seek your help as PILO for DCIG to carry AA’s message to the public and professionals. How your group can help to achieve this is twofold:

    1. For individual members with solid continuous sobriety to put themselves forward as prepared to give service in the form of a talk to the general public or a group of professional people, either to give a talk themselves or to assist in the organization and delivery of the talk; and
    2. To hold a conscience/business meeting for the purpose of compiling a list of professionals and agencies in your area that would be likely to come into contact with the still suffering alcoholic, and to assist in contacting such persons to see whether they would be open to or indeed welcome such a talk (e.g. at one of their regular (staff or other) meetings). Among the appropriate professionals and agencies are those listed in the passage from the Structure Handbook quoted above. For example, the Rotary Club of Barnstaple was interested in the topic of alcoholism and invited me to give a talk on it from the

Local poster and flyer campaign

Hold a conscience/business meeting at which this is the main item on the agenda.

Members between them identify locations in the area which would be suitable for an AA poster and/or flyers. The passage quoted above helpfully identifies possible targets. For example, we have put up posters in doctors’ and dentists’ surgeries, pharmacies, police stations, “one stop shops” run by the local authority, local drug and alcohol services, public and voluntary local homeless, housing and welfare services.

Next, divide the targets between the members who are prepared to get involved in outreach. It is much easier to cover an area if there are a number of members involved and they can split the task between them, as well as providing mutual support and encouragement. The targets could be divided geographically or by type (e.g. a member may have a connection with a particular doctors’ surgery or local authority or voluntary support body). Remember that it is of course necessary to obtain the consent of the place at which the posters and flyers are to be displayed. This is often the office manager, proprietor, managerial staff or “front of house”.

Agree a time-period within which the “campaign” is to be conducted and fix the date for a further conscience/business meeting at which members are to report back. Decide whether the campaign has been successfully completed or whether further time is required to complete it.

Finally, give yourselves a pat on the back!

The posters and flyers

GSO can supply a range of posters which are available free of charge for Public Information activity. Most are available in A4 and A5 sizes (the A5 size can usefully be used as flyers). Please contact/order from GSO at carolinedavy@gsogb.org.uk.

If you would like to personalise the posters/flyers with your group’s meeting details, I have copies of an AA poster in .JPG and .PDF formats with a blanked area, so that you can add your group’s details by either sticking labels onto the poster or writing on them, or editing the file in .PDF format or using a photo editor (such as Microsoft paint) in .JPG format. If a member of the group is tech savvy and has a colour printer, the posters and flyers can be produced “in house”. Otherwise use the services of a local printer (for the cost of this see below). If you would like the files, please contact me at pilodcig@gmail.com.

The Online Big Book

View on your Phone, Tablet or PC

If you are new to AA or are  searching for the answers to a ‘drinking problem’,  the link below is to an online version of our AA ‘Big Book’ which has all the answers we need and you can carry it around in your pocket. Read it anywhere you have a spare moment.  Great for long journeys on trains, planes, boats and waiting rooms. If you have headphones,  you can listen to  or watch it being read.

https://www.aa.org/the-big-book

Online Meeting List for UK and Europe

The national Website Meeting Finder maintains a list of almost 400 online meetings  which are independent of any intergroup or region.  About half in the UK and the rest in  most West European Countries.  To access the list use this link BUT before clicking the link read the note below:

https://www.alcoholics-anonymous.org.uk/AA-Meetings/Find-a-Meeting/

When you get to the webpage you have select the ‘Online’ Intergroup from the drop down list – and its right at the end on the long list.  Then click the search button above.   If you add a Day of the Week , you will get a sub list of all online meetings for the selected day (Sunday to Saturday).  Be aware if your meeting is tagged for an intergroup it will not appear on this Online List which is specifically for meetings with no intergroup or regional affiliations. Play with the selections –  it is worth the effort but don’t use the Town or Postcode.

 

Sobriety Chips

Sobriety Chips -‘Chips’ for short,  are awarded by any group tagged with ‘Chips’.

If a member wishes,  chips are awarded  from a newcomer’s first 24 hours and then  for each sober year therafter from 1 Year to 60 Years.

Finding Your Meeting Registration Number (UID)

The DCIG Website lists UIDs for all meetings

Use the Tag Box and select your meeting day and check for the UID after the Postcode or Zoom link.

You can then check your UID against the current GSO information via this  PDF link:  aa-devonc-meetings

This link to “Meeting Finder Results” gives a table 7 rows by 3 columns with the UID at the foot of the meeting block.  UIDs are 3, 4 or 5  digits except for Online Meetings which begin with ‘ON’ then 3 digits.

Please note that the meeting list is in alphabetic order so not in the WTF Day-of-the-Week order. There are presently 40 meetings on this list.  On the national website, the Thursday hybrid Polish Meeting is in a separate Intergroup for Polish speaking meetings.

GSO Reports, Service News, Flyers & Literature Order Form

Annual Report

For the 2025 Annual Report of the General Service Board please click here:

Latest Service News

AA Service News, Spring 2026, please click here:
PI Newsletter, January 2026, please click here:
YP Newsletter, Autumn 2025, please click here:

Handbooks

AA Service Handbook 2024, please click here:  

AA Structure Handbook 2024, please click here:  

Flyers

Young Persons Online Workshops 2026, please click here:  

Literature Order Form

AA Literature Order Form:  

Responders Needed for Our Local Help Line

The AA Telephone Helpline is always answered by a recovering alcoholic, usually from the Devon and Cornwall region.

The helpline is available to all and serves a variety of needs, but its primary purpose is to carry AA’s message of recovery to those still suffering from active alcoholism.

Additionally it can provide help, support and information in the following areas;

      • Someone who needs help with an alcohol problem
      • A relative or friend of someone with an alcohol problem
      • An employer with an employee with an alcohol problem
      • General enquiries such as Website Feedback

The AA Helpline always requires people who are willing to be telephone responders. The Helpline is covered by 4 Intergroup areas, Devon Central, South Devon, Plymouth and Cornwall.

The telephone shifts are either a morning, 8.30am-1pm, afternoon, 1pm-6pm or evening,6pm-10pm once every 3 weeks. The requirements for a prospective responder are as follow:

      • 12 months continuous sobriety
      • Home Group
      • Sponsor
      • Telephone landline or mobile number
      • Internet access

 

If you would like to volunteer for a shift or would like further information, then please feel free to contact Rich at the following email address, telephones.devonc@aamail.org .

Print your own WTF (meeting finder)

The up-to-date anonymous version of the WTF (Where-To-Find a meeting) is available now as a pdf download.  The latest revision date is given underneath the Quarter Months. Besides printing in colour it also looks very nice in Black and White.  So, if you have double sided printer, you can print off small batches of foldable WTFs on a single A4 page. Don’t worry if your printer does not do double sided printing.  You can still print the WTF on two pages. 

How to Print

  1. Select Print – then:
  2. Select double sided if you plan to do this.
  3. Try Black and White. (It’s very decent and useable and won’t eat up your colour cartridge.)
  4. And select Flip on Short Edge (so you have the front and back pages running across the print page)
  5. Select number of copies and Print

 

AND if you don’t have a printer

Just download the PDF to your phone.  The file is in zoomable directly on your phone and in colour.  It’s what I do, and it works well.

Our Website

News

About the site

As many will know, the old site was launched in May 2011 and after 10 years plus, it was much in need of a refresh both in ‘look and feel’ and technically.  Consequently, on March 10, 2022  we launched an all-new site which addresses both issues.  The new site is  much  newer technology which improves the  adding  and managing of content as well as keeping the site up to date and secure. We believe that most pages will be familiar but also updated with current links and up to date information wherever necessary. All of this ‘slow changing information’ is held in pages, accessed from the menu at the top of each page.  This also gives easy discovery for new visitors and new members. More frequent visitors, primarily engaged AA members, should find navigation, using the Tag Blocks, will give quicker and easier access to fast changing information on meetings and local AA news.

TAGS and Tag Blocks

This is a newer and highly effective way to navigate the site. Most pages will have a Tags Block  as you can see on the right (or below if you are using a phone or tablet).  All the meetings are accessible from the Days Tags at the start of the Tag Block.  These run form ‘1 Sun’ to ‘7 Sat’ and give you complete and fast access to all our meetings on any given day. The tags and categories which they hold will allow  you to find Meetings and News items with ease. So if you are looking for a traditional ( F2F) meeting you just click on the ‘Traditional’  tag and  wherever you are, you will end up on the Meetings and News page with a list of Traditional Meetings (including,  currently 2 Hybrids).  Now entering November 2023 most meetings have reverted to our traditional F2F meeting  but we still have 5 Zooms and 2 Hybrids.  The ‘online’ tag will find the 5 Zooms plus the 2 Hybrids. If you need the latest WTF just click the ‘help’ Tag and then click the link on the WTF post. The same approach will work for Questions for Conference ( QfC) etc. There are tags for the days of the week Sunday to Saturday. These will give you all the meetings for the respective day.  Just have a play and see what you can find and one last thing: for visitors checking for wheelchair access, please use the ‘access tag’ in the Tags Block on the right or at the bottom if using a phone.

Categories

If you wanted to see all News Posts then select ‘News’  from Categories dropdown.  The categories will also tell you how many Meetings, News item etc that we currently have. If you want all the Intergroup news click the ‘dcig’ Category.

Tags and Categories help us to find information which changes more frequently to that on pages.

News Ticker

Latest news and meetings changes will appear on the Latest News ‘Ticker’ on the Welcome  and the Resources pages.

And Don’t Forget to try the Search – Its awesome.

The NHS have some interesting data on the impact of Alcoholism. Just type ‘NHS’ and see where you end up!

Feedback and Fault Reporting

Any questions, suggestions or if you find something that is broken or not working please use the Contact US link either here or above on the main menu.

Devon Central Intergroup March 2022

 

Creating a New Group (GSR) Email

At the DCIG  meeting (12th Feb 2023), we had a discussion on the GSR email account transfers which accompany the change to a new GSR and the many stressful situations that often ensue. If the new GSR cannot take over the email then the only way forward is to create a new Gmail account. There was a strong argument to keep what we had from one group. However it is worth saying at the outset that if a group has not had any problems using the existing email then they simply carry on doing so but if they have problems now or in the future and cannot use the existing email then a new Group Email can be set up as discussed below. And as ever  what follows is a suggestion on a reasonable way to proceed.

Directly after intergroup, the Tiverton GSR  had the problem and  arrived at a nice  idea for a new email address which with some additional consideration  became town.day.am/pm.yymm(@gmail.com). The last bit YYMM is the year and month of the new GSR being appointed and setting up the new email.

 By way of example, have a look these emails for three Sunday Meetings in the suggested format: exe.sun.am.2201, exm.sun.pm.2108, sea.sun.pm.2004. (GSR example changes Jan 22, Aug 21 and Apr 20). And to be crystal clear the three preceding emails are examples and not real emails.

This new format allows us all to see from the email address:

    • Where the Meeting is running.
    • What day it runs on.
    • Is it in the Morning or Evening.
    • When did the GSR take on the role?

 

The combo will give us an easy unique email address. And all that has to change is the new GSR date – yymm which was the heart of  the Tiverton GSR’s design.

When the new mail account is created the recovery email and the mobile should be those of the new GSR.  When that GSR steps down the succeeding GSR will repeat the process of setting up the new email by changing the YYMM at the end of the group email (town.day.am/pm). When the email change is in place please forward the new email address to the DCIG Secretary and ECLO.

To create a new  gmail account please use the this link:

 https://accounts.google.com/signup/v2/webcreateaccount?flowName=GlifWebSignIn&flowEntry=SignUp