In Al-Anon and Alateen, members share their own experience, strength, and hope.

You will meet others who share your feelings and frustrations, if not your exact situation. We come together to learn a better way of life, to find happiness whether the alcoholic is still drinking or not.

Alcoholism is a family disease. The disease affects all those who have a relationship with a problem drinker. Those of us closest to the alcoholic seem to suffer the most, and those who care the most, can easily get caught up in the behavior of another person. We react to the alcoholic’s behavior. We keep our focus on them, what they do, where they are, how much they drink. Some of us have tried to control their drinking or force them to stop. We take on the blame, guilt, and shame that really only belong to the drinker. We can become as addicted to the alcoholic, as the alcoholic is to alcohol. We, too, can become ill.

Al-Anon and Alateen members are people just like you and me. We are people who have been affected by someone else’s drinking. They are our parents, children, spouses, partners, brothers, sisters, other family members, friends, employers, employees, and coworkers.

No matter what our specific relationship or our experience, we share a common bond: we feel our lives have been affected by someone else’s drinking.