Welcome!
Alateen is for you if you have been affected by someone else’s drinking. It could be a friend or a family member. Come to a meeting, and you will be with other teens who have situations like yours. It’s safe. We run the meeting. Stories are shared and solutions are found. We can’t stop them from drinking, but we can have a good life of our own whether they drink or not.
Click on any of the links in the following list: (then you may have to scroll up a bit)
- HOW DOES ALATEEN WORK?
- DOES ALATEEN APPLY TO MY SITUATION?
- WHAT HAPPENS IN A MEETING
- CHECK OUT THE “TEEN CORNER”
- FIND AN ALATEEN MEETING NEAR YOU
- KEEP THESE POINTS IN MIND
- FLIER – ALATEEN MTGS. IN GREATER SACRAMENTO AREA
How Alateen Works
Let’s say you went somewhere and you met some other teens who were talking about the problems they were having. Let’s say you had some of those same problems. Wouldn’t you want to listen in? If some of them had found some solutions that really helped them reduce the pain caused by the behavior of their family members, then wouldn’t you want to hear about those solutions? That’s what Alateen is, and that’s how it works. It’s nothing fancy or complicated. You just listen in and share your own experience, and learn some solutions to problems from other kids who have tried them and found them to be helpful. Sometimes there are tears, and lots of times there is laughter. Later, you’ll be able to help other teens who have those problems. That’s the general idea.
Solutions
The solutions to the problems may surprise you because very few people would think of them on their own. In an Alateen meeting you hear other kids tell their “stories” and get real about how these solutions really do help. As a result, what happens is that you learn to change yourself in a way that makes what other people do, have much less effect on you.
Do any of these things describe your situation?
Here’s what happens in a meeting.
You show up at the meeting place, and see some other teens there. In addition there are two adults there to make sure the meeting is safe and orderly. Then you notice that the adults don’t run the meeting. They are Al-Anon members who have been in some of the same difficult situations that you have. So they understand where you are coming from, plus they understand how the Alateen program works. They have had special training and certification to make these meetings safe and effective. Meetings last an hour, or an hour and a half. When you’re new all you have to do is say hi and listen, but you may be given a chance to talk about why you came, if you want to.