Have you ever arrived at an Al-Anon or Alateen meeting only to find that the door was locked, that the location was incorrect, or that it had been canceled altogether? This can be incredibly frustrating and disappointing, especially for newcomers. Think back to when you attended your first meeting—if the door had been locked, would you have come back?
To address this issue, the World Service Office (WSO) provides a “Report an Issue” link for each meeting listed in the meeting search on al-anon.org. This allows individuals to notify the WSO if meeting information appears to be inaccurate.
When an issue is reported, WSO Staff will follow up with the affected group, and the meeting information will be temporarily removed from the search until its status can be verified. A notification will be emailed to the Current Mailing Address (CMA) to inform the group of the reported issue. If the group doesn’t respond within three business days, the matter will be escalated to the Area Group Records Coordinator for further assistance. If the meeting information cannot be verified within 90 days, the group is inactivated and removed from the meeting search.
Verifying your group information regularly and reporting changes promptly is crucial. You can submit your Al-Anon group change online at al-anon.org/grp-update anytime throughout the year.
Reprinted with permission of Al-Anon Family Group Headquarters, Inc., Virginia Beach, VA.