Am I Responsible?

Some alcoholics aren’t lucky enough to be able to go to meetings when they want to. They are in prison. They have limited contact with the shared experience that our Fellowship offers through its meetings.

What if I needed an A.A. meeting and there was none?

Alcoholics Anonymous is a fellowship of people who work together to solve their common problem and help others solve their drinking problem. Our primary purpose is to stay sober and help other alcoholics achieve and maintain sobriety through the Twelve Steps. You can become a member of A.A. if you have a desire to stop drinking.

AA in our Area 80 has a presence at the following correctional facilities:

The Pas Correctional Centre (TPCC) in the Pas, MB
Brandon Correctional Centre (BCC) in Brandon, MB
Headingley Correctional Centre (HCC) in Headingley, MB
Women’s Correctional Centre (WCC) in Headingley, MB
Milner Ridge Correctional Centre (MRCC) in Milner Ridge, MB
Winnipeg Remand Centre (WRC) in Winnipeg, MB
Manitoba Youth Centre (MYC) in Winnipeg, MB
Stony Mountain Institution (SMI) in Stony Mountain, MB

We currently hold 22 meetings each week in different areas of these facilities. This requires a tremendous effort from a large pool of volunteers. We reach roughly 200 inside members per week at these meetings. When carrying the message inside a correctional facility, we are sharing our experience, strength and hope with another alcoholic. We let our stories speak for themselves. Our audience is more interested in learning how to stay sober than in hearing how we got drunk, so we talk about our program of recovery with the Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous.

You can help. Here are some ideas:

Volunteer to come to a correctional facility and attend meetings.
Volunteer to be a temporary contact upon an inmate’s release and take them to their first outside A.A. meeting through Bridging the Gap.
Donate the price of a copy of Alcoholics Anonymous (the Big Book) or
Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions to your local corrections committee or provide back issues of the Grapevine and A.A. Conference-approved literature.
Correspond with an inmate through the Corrections Correspondence Service.
Participate in the Area 80 Corrections Committee by attending the monthly meeting held at 6:30 pm, the second Tuesday of each month (in-person at Manitoba Central Office or online: see the Event Calendar

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We always need new volunteers and literature donations. If you wish to get involved, please call Manitoba Central Office 204-942-0126 or toll-free 1-877-942-0126), or you can contact the Corrections Committee directly by email at correctionschair@aamanitoba.org