Al-Anon Celebrates its 65th Anniversary, Helping Family Members and Friends of Alcoholics
Virginia Beach, VA (PRWEB) May 26, 2016 -- This month, Al-Anon Family Groups are celebrating the support they have offered, since 1951, to millions of people who struggle with the often heartbreaking and maddening effects of the disease of alcoholism in a loved one. In the midst of a family member or friend’s drunken episode, through the sober arguments about the drinking, and even left alone with thoughts of how could they be drinking their life away, Al-Anon has provided strength and hope for 65 years. For many, Al-Anon has been there when it has seemed there was nowhere else to turn.
“With one out of every seven households in the United States having a heavy drinker, the struggles for their loved ones are abundant, and they are real,” said the Al-Anon Family Groups World Service Office Information Analyst, Pamela Walters. “In the World Service Office, we hope Al-Anon will be here for another 65 years, supporting the Al-Anon groups that meet to help people deal with the effects of someone else’s drinking and have happier lives,” said Walters.
“He hides the drinking,” said Dawn in an anonymous comment on an Al-Anon “First Steps to Al-Anon Recovery” podcast. “He drinks whiskey, and just this morning my dog was crying and looking under his bedside table and when I looked to see if it was her toy, there were three empty bottles of liquor. I used to get very depressed and would think it was my fault when he would act strange towards me and belittle me. Now I realize that it’s the alcohol that’s doing this to him.”
Al-Anon provides hope for anyone who is suffering from the effects of someone else’s drinking. In Al-Anon’s most recent membership survey, an anonymous member said, “I will be forever grateful for the Al-Anon program. I believe it saved my life. I was emotionally, physically, and spiritually shattered before the program due to the disease of alcoholism. Today, I know that I have choices and the tools of the program to get me through tough times.”
Al-Anon Family Groups are for families and friends who have been affected by a loved one’s drinking. Nearly 16,000 local groups meet throughout the U.S., Canada, Bermuda, and Puerto Rico every week. Al-Anon Family Groups meet in more than 130 countries, and Al-Anon literature is available in more than 40 languages. Al-Anon Family Groups have been offering strength and support to families and friends of problem drinkers since 1951. Al-Anon Family Group Headquarters, Inc. acts as the clearinghouse worldwide for inquiries from those who need help or want information about Al-Anon Family Groups and Alateen, its program for teenage members.
For more information about Al-Anon Family Groups, visit al-anon.org and read a copy of Al-Anon’s annual public outreach magazine “Al-Anon Faces Alcoholism 2016.” Find a local meeting by calling toll-free: 1-888-4AL-ANON.
Pamela Walters, Al-Anon Family Group Headquarters, Inc., http://www.al-anon.alateen.org/, +1 (757) 563-1600 Ext: 1672, [email protected]
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