What Groups are in the Inner City District?
There are many groups in the Inner City District area. The below list is comprised of groups who are currently supporting Inner City District through regular participation in District meetings and/or group donations. If your group is not listed and you’d like to know more, discuss it with your group or come along to the next meeting. We would love to see you at the next ICD Meeting!
- Albert Park, Way of Life – Tuesday 8pm
- Armadale, Pass It On, Monday 7pm
- Armadale, The Deal Mens Group, Sunday & Wednesday
- Albert Park, Melbourne Mens’ Group, Thursday 7pm
- Bentleigh, Life’s in Session, Wednesday 9:30am
- Caulfield North, Sober Saturday, Saturday 10:30am
- Dandenong, Common Welfare Dandenong, Friday 6pm
- Glen Waverley, There is a Solution, Wednesday 7:30pm
- Freethinkers in Recovery, Prahran, Thursday 7:00pm
- Malvern East, Rule 62, Thursday 7:00pm
- Melbourne CBD, Daily Reflections Group, Mon, Tues, Thurs 7:30am
- Middle Park, Middle Park Women’s Recovery, Saturday 10:30am
- Prahran, Prahran Recovery Group, Sunday 7pm
- St Kilda, Breakfast with Bill, Saturday 8am
- St Kilda, St Kilda Beginners (Galiamble), Wednesday 7pm
- St Kilda, Saturday Night Live, Saturday 7pm
- St Kilda, Serenity Now, Sunday 5pm
- South Melbourne, South Melbourne, Monday to Friday 12:30pm
- South Yarra, Progress Not Perfection, Sunday 10:30am
How can I make a contribution?
Your contribution helps support the Inner City District in spreading Public Information about Alcoholics Anonymous to the wider public through a variety of different mediums. Donations fund the creation and distribution of posters, pamphlets, magazine ads, public information packs for general practitioners and other health professionals as well as organising events.
To make a donation to Inner City District please use the below details:
- Account name: Melbourne Inner City District AA
- BSB: 033 039
- Account number: 248688
Ensure your group’s Treasurer uses your group’s name in the transfer description so your donation can be identified and a receipt can be issued. Please email aainnercity@gmail.com if you have any questions.
What is the primary purpose of the group?
“Each group has but one primary purpose – to carry its message to the alcoholic who still suffers.”
Tradition 5
Welcome New Members
It is easy to gravitate towards a friend after the meeting to discuss the footy, or work, or your new home however, it is the newcomers who are desperate for hope that require the most attention. Some groups have practical measures in place, encouraging members to avoid their mates straight after the meeting. This means taking time to approach newcomers and welcoming them to the group. It rings true that AA meetings aren’t social clubs. We are a fellowship of alcoholics in action.
Join your district
Another way to carry the message is to join your district. Getting involved in district allows groups to engage in a coordinated effort to carry the message of AA. Being granted a new freedom and happiness through AA, we are compelled to help still suffering alcoholics to reinforce this personal freedom. Service is freedom. In a sense, service is a selfish endeavour, because the person serving experiences freedom. Nominate your GSR at your next group conscience. The GSR will be the conduit between your group, and the district. Once elected, the GSR can provide further service opportunities to other members of the group. It might be providing information on AA to a local community centre, or flyers to a doctor.
Volunteer for service opportunities
There are many service positions and service opportunities available for groups to become involved in. This includes guest speaking at rehab and detox centres, volunteering at the 12 Step Office and assisting with the coordinated effort of public information as a District enables us to better carry the message. We can better cover our bases. We can see what areas have been missed. Some suffering alcoholics have access to treatment, subsequently learning of AA through a rehab or detox. Some do not. Let’s do our part to help the still suffering alcoholic.
What is the role of a General Service Representative?
“The strength of our whole general service structure starts with the group and the general service representative (GSR) the group elects. I cannot emphasize too strongly the GSR’s importance.”
Bill W.
The general service representative has the job of linking his or her group with A.A. as a whole. The G.S.R. represents the voice of the group conscience, reporting the group’s thoughts to the district committee member and to the delegate, who passes them on to the Conference. This communication is a two-way street, making the G.S.R. responsible for bringing back to the group Conference Actions that affect A.A. unity, health, and
growth. Only when a G.S.R. keeps the group informed, and communicates the group conscience, can the Conference truly act for A.A. as a whole. Click here for more information relating to General Service Representatives.
General Service Representative Duties
- G.S.R.s attend district meetings and area assemblies.
- G.S.R.s serve as the mail contact with the General Service Office, and they are listed in the A.A. directories as contacts for their groups. They receive the G.S.O. bulletin Box 4-5-9, and keep their groups abreast of A.A. activities all over the world.
- They serve as mail contact with their district committee member and with the area committee.
- G.S.R.s supply their D.C.M.s with up-to-date group information, which is relayedto G.S.O., either directly to the Records department or through the area registrarupdating G.S.O.’s database, for inclusion in the directories and for G.S.O. mailings.
- They are knowledgeable about material available from G.S.O. — new literature, guidelines, bulletins, videos, tapes, kits, etc. — and they are responsible for passing such information on to the groups.
- They learn everything they can about the Twelve Traditions and Twelve Conceptsand are familiar with this manual, the books Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions andA.A. Comes of Age, Twelve Concepts for World Service, and the pamphlets “The A.A. Group,” “A.A. Tradition – How It Developed,” “The Twelve Traditions Illustrated,” and “The Twelve Concepts Illustrated.”
- They work with group treasurers to develop practical plans for group support.
- They participate in district and area service meetings, and often help with planning for area get-togethers and conventions. Following these events, they make reports to their groups for the benefit of those who could not attend.