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Alcoholism Recovery Program
“If each sufferer were to carry the news of the scientific hopelessness of alcoholism to each new prospect, he might be able to lay every newcomer wide open to a transforming spiritual experience.”

AA Co-Founder, Bill W., January 1963, “The Bill W.–Carl Jung Letters”, The Language of the Heart
Alcoholism and hospitals

Hospital & Institution Committee

The Hospital and Institution Committee of Northern California is a service committee of Alcoholics Anonymous, governed by our 9th Tradition, which states: “AA may create service boards or committees directly responsible to those they serve.” We have been serving Hospitals and Institutions since 1942 when the first H&I meeting was established by Warden Duffy at San Quentin Prison.

Our only purpose is to carry the message of AA to alcoholics in Corrections and Treatment facilities and facilities serving alcoholics in Northern CA. H&I volunteers provide AA meetings and literature to alcoholics in these facilities.  We also provide sponsorship at selected and authorized prisons. 

If you are a professional employed at a facility serving alcoholics in Alameda County and would like more information on having the H&I Committee provide inside meetings with AA literature, please contact us at handi.area53@gmail.com

Learn more about NorCal H&I.

Join Us in NorCal Area 53 Hospital and Institution Committee!

Area 53 covers all of Alameda County and is one of 40 areas that make up the Hospital and Institution Committee of Northern California which spans from as far south as Monterey and Fresno and up to the Oregon border. Area 53 covers all of Alameda County. Area 53 is always looking for new volunteers! 

H&I is a great way to do AA service and carry the message to another alcoholic. There are many positions available at different times and locations every day of the week, making it easy to find a commitment that works for you. The typical H&I volunteer helps to bring a one hour AA meeting into a facility once a month and there are many one-time speaking opportunities available. Join us at our business meeting to learn about our exciting open positions.

Monthly Business Meeting - First Wednesday of the month

New volunteer Orientation – 6:30pm – 7:15pm

Learn about open service positions at H&I Area 53 – 7:15pm – 7:30pm

Regular Business meeting – 7:30pm – 8:30pm

Currently meetings are being conducted online only at:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/3172595765?pwd=L3grSk5KQkZtMGtlT0dOMWY2K3Z6UT09

Meeting ID: 317 259 5765

Passcode: ACTION

Hospital and Institution Area 53

Service Positions

Following are some of the service positions available on the Area 53 H&I committee.
  • Meeting Volunteers are the people who are responsible for bringing meetings into the many hospitals, recovery centers, detoxes and jails. They usually go into a facility (with another volunteer) to conduct a one-hour meeting once a month on a given day of the week.
  • Speakers are always needed at most facilities, and this is a great way to start out as an H&I volunteer and get to know facilities better. A Meeting Volunteer will be there to run the meeting and support you.
  • Facility Coordinators are the people who are responsible for organizing the rosters for a particular meeting – they are essentially the glue that holds the meetings together.
  • H&I Group Representatives are the people who serve as the vital communication link between the local H&I committee and their Home Group; they make announcements and keep their groups informed about H&I activities, and attend H&I business meetings to discuss and vote on issues.
  • Sponsorship at San Quentin The San Quentin Inside Volunteer Sponsorship Program  was created to provide sponsorship to inmates at San Quentin State Prison. If you have 5 years of continuous sobriety, are male-identified, and have sponsorship experience, reach out to  sanquentin.ivss@gmail.com to get connected with a sponsee! More info here.
AA in Jails and Prisons.

Stock Photo. Membership in AA unknown.

sanquentin.ivss@gmail.com to get connected with a sponsee! More info here.

Get on the email list! 

Sign up to receive monthly Area 53 H&I Communications, current open positions, and stay in touch.

Pass the pink can at your AA meetings!

Pass the pink can at your AA meetings!

Funding for our committee’s activities is provided by contributions collected in the H&I Pink Cans passed at AA meetings, and by other contributions from individual members and groups.

Since 1956, the money collected in the pink cans has enabled us to provide many millions of dollars worth of literature to confined alcoholics, giving access to AA’s life-saving message.
Because we are governed by the Twelve Traditions and guided by the spiritual principles embodied in the Twelve Concepts, H&I is committed to full transparency and accountability in all our financial activities.

For H&I Groups Reps

The purpose of the H&I Group Representative is to serve as the vital communication link between the local H&I committee and your Home Group, make announcements and keep your group informed about H&I activities, and attend H&I business meetings to discuss and vote on issues.

Sign up to receive monthly Area 53 H&I Communications for updates and current open positions. Monthly mailings will enable you to report back to your group. 

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By our Twelve Steps we have recovered, by our Twelve Traditions we have unified, and through our Third Legacy -- Service -- we shall carry the AA message down through the corridors of time to come.