Public Relations

What is Narcotics Anonymous?

Narcotics Anonymous is a global, community-based organization with a multi-lingual and multicultural membership. NA was founded in 1953, and our membership growth was minimal during our initial twenty years as an organization. Since the publication of our Basic Text in 1983, the number of members and meetings has increased dramatically. Today, NA members hold more than 68,000 meetings weekly in 130 countries and we speak 65 different languages. We offer recovery from the effects of addiction through working a twelve-step program, including regular attendance at group meetings. The group atmosphere provides help from peers and offers an ongoing support network for addicts who wish to pursue and maintain a drug-free lifestyle.

Our name, Narcotics Anonymous, is not meant to imply a focus on any particular drug; NA’s approach makes no distinction between drugs including alcohol. Membership is free, and we have no affiliation with any organizations outside of NA including governments, religions, law enforcement groups, or medical and psychiatric associations. Through all of our service efforts and our cooperation with others seeking to help addicts, we strive to reach a day when every addict in the world has an opportunity to experience our message of recovery in his or her own language and culture.

 

What is public information?

The role of the PI committee is to ensure that clear and accurate information about

NA is available to the public. The demand for information about our fellowship is

greater than ever. Being part of a committee that brings suffering addicts to our

fellowship is a reward that cannot be expressed, only experienced.

 

Why does Narcotics Anonymous need relationships

with the public?

 

As a fellowship, we have already made remarkable advancements in our

relationships with the public. Area service committees around the world bring

meetings into correctional facilities, provide information to various professionals, and

interact with members of the public over NA phone lines and in planning NA events.

And yet, there is still room for us to grow.

 

Accessing resources

The three most common requests we get from professionals are:

 

General Request

General requests/questions will be directed to the Northern California Spanish Speaking Area of Narcotics Anonymous (AHHNCNA) Public Relations Subcommittee. Please call our helpline at (855) 667-2262, press the number 5 on your telephone and leave a detailed message on our voicemail.  The committee will review your request and a member of our organization will contact you shortly in response to your request.

Presentations

The Northern California Spanish Speaking Area of Narcotics Anonymous (AHHNCNA) Public Relations Committee can provide presentations to your group detailing the specifics of what services are and are not provided by our organization. You can contact that committee by calling our helpline at (855) 667-2262, press the number 5 on your telephone and leave a detailed message on our voicemail.  The committee will review your request and a member of our organization will contact you shortly in response to your request. The committee will review your request and a member of our organization will contact you shortly in response to your request.

 

Meeting or Literature Requests

The Northern California Spanish Speaking Area of Narcotics (AHHNCNA) Anonymous Hospitals and Institution Committee can provide a Narcotics Anonymous meeting in your facility if you meet certain criteria and based upon the resources we have available. You can contact that committee by calling our helpline at (855) 667-2262, press the number 5 on your telephone and leave a detailed message on our voicemail.  The committee will review your request and a member of our organization will contact you shortly in response to your request. The committee will review your request and a member of our organization will contact you shortly in response to your request.

Literature

Narcotics Anonymous literature can be purchased through the NA World Service Office.

Family or friends of addicts

The Nar-Anon Family Groups are a worldwide fellowship for those affected by someone else’s addiction. As a Twelve-Step Program, they offer help by sharing their experience, strength, and hope. The link to their site is provided as a courtesy by the PASC and implies no endorsement or affiliation.

What does “public relations” mean for NA members?

 

For our purposes in Narcotics Anonymous, the term “public relations” refers to

all of the relationships we create and maintain with the general public, professionals,

potential members, and each other in our groups and service communities. We have

been establishing relationships with the public all along, whether we have made a

choice to be aware of and participate in those relationships or not. It is time to look

more closely at how we relate to the rest of society as well as to fellow members. It

is time to gather our collective experience, and improve our service efforts so NA

can continue to become a more reliable and recognizable program of recovery.