What is Alcoholics Anonymous?
Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is a free peer support group for those struggling with alcohol addiction. AA provides a safe space for members to share their experiences and tools to help each other achieve and maintain sobriety.
Regular AA meetings are available throughout Seattle. Here are details on three local chapters:
North Seattle Intergroup
- Monday – Friday: 12 pm (open)
- Tuesday: 5:30 pm (closed)
- Saturday: 10 am (open), 8 pm (closed)
- Sunday: 6 pm (open)
Meeting formats include open discussions, speaker meetings, and Big Book studies. Newcomers are welcome.
Central Seattle Intergroup
- Monday – Thursday: 12 pm (open)
- Friday: 12 pm (open), 8 pm (open)
- Saturday: 10 am (open)
- Sunday: 9:30 am (closed)
Southeast Seattle Intergroup
- Monday: 5:30 pm (open)
- Tuesday: 7 am (open), 12 pm (open)
- Wednesday: 12 pm (open)
- Saturday: 10 am (open)
Discussion topics focus on sobriety, coping strategies, and personal growth.
The 12 Steps of AA
Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) outlines a 12-step program to help members achieve and maintain sobriety. The steps aim to motivate members to make positive changes in their lives by:
- Admitting they are powerless over alcohol and that their lives have become unmanageable
- Coming to believe that a Power greater than themselves can restore them to sanity
- Making a decision to turn their will and lives over to the care of God as they understand Him
- Making a searching and fearless moral inventory of themselves
- Admitting to God, to themselves, and to another human being the exact nature of their wrongs
- Becoming entirely ready to have God remove all their defects of character
- Humbly asking Him to remove their shortcomings
- Making a list of all the people they harmed and becoming willing to make amends to them all
- Making direct amends to such people where possible, except when doing so would injure them or others
- Continuing to take personal inventory and promptly admit wrongs
- Seeking through prayer and meditation to improve their conscious contact with God as they understand Him, praying only for knowledge of His will and the power to carry it out
- Having a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, trying to carry this message to other alcoholics, and practicing these principles in all their affairs
Getting Started with AA in Seattle
Use the meeting search on udetc.org to find local meetings in your area. Seattle and King County have both in-person and online/virtual AA meetings available.
Attending Your First Local AA Meeting
There are two main types of AA meetings in Seattle and King County:
| Open Meetings | Closed Meetings |
| Open to anyone interested in the AA program | Only for those who have a desire to stop drinking |
| Family, friends, and observers are welcome | For alcoholics seeking help with drinking problem |
| Share general information about the AA program | Focused sharing from alcoholics about addiction |
Arrive early and introduce yourself as a new local member. Share your experiences if you feel comfortable. You may receive welcome keychain tags marking periods of sobriety at your first meeting:
- 30 days
- 60 days
- 90 days
- 6 months
- 9 months
- 1 year
Keep attending meetings and building connections in the AA community for support on your path to recovery.