Bridging the Gap is a temporary contact program designed to assist the newcomer in making the transition from a treatment, detox, or correctional facility to Alcoholics Anonymous.
People are often introduced to AA while they are in a hospital, treatment or correctional facility. When they return to their own community, it can be very difficult for them to reach out to AA for help in getting started in our program of recovery.
The purpose of Bridging the Gap is to offer the newcomer a temporary contact once they leave the facility. This contact person can assist them until they are comfortable attending meetings on their own.
Before a person leaves the facility, the client or their counsellor contacts the appropriate Bridging the Gap committee, who locates a temporary contact in their home community. The temporary contact gets in touch with the person leaving the facility and sets up a time and place to meet after they are discharged from the facility. The AA contact then offers to take the newcomer to a few meetings and introduces them to the program of Alcoholics Anonymous. This vital 12th Step work can help to alleviate their fear in attending meetings alone.
A temporary contact will:
Safeguards:
The forms for clients and for members to participate in the Bridging the Gap program can be found at the top of the page.
Email Bridging the Gap
Tel (in Winnipeg): 204-942-0126
Tel (Toll Free): 1-877-942-0126
If you have completed a treatment or detox program, or are being released from a corrections facility, you are invited to fill out the Bridging the Gap request form below. A member of our committee will reach out and act as your temporary contact. Alternately, click here to download a printable copy of this form.
Looking to volunteer as a member for Bridging the Gap instead? Go here.