Standing committee
Treatment Facilities
Carrying the message into treatment — and Bridging the Gap to A.A.
Committee website
MSCA 9 Bridging the Gap
area9btg.org
The committee's Bridging the Gap site: request a Temporary Contact when you leave treatment, volunteer to be one, and find the BTG District Kit, literature and events. The Corrections Committee, which works as part of this service in Area 09, uses this site too.
What this committee does
The Treatment Facilities Committee coordinates the A.A. members and groups who carry our message to alcoholics in hospitals and treatment facilities, and runs the Area’s Bridging the Gap program so that a person leaving treatment meets A.A. in their home community. It also explains, within our Traditions, what A.A. can and cannot do to help alcoholics in treatment.
- Type
- Standing committee
- When we meet
- At Area meetings
- Who serves
Daisy F. · English
Open seat · Spanish
- Area committee guidelines
- Approved September 12, 2004
Its work in Area 09
- Support A.A. meetings in treatment facilities across the Area and help new ones form.
- Run Bridging the Gap (BTG): match each newcomer leaving a facility with a Temporary Contact who takes them to a few meetings, introduces them to members and shares about sponsorship and a home group (area9btg.org).
- Recruit and orient Temporary Contact volunteers — a short-term, basic Twelfth Step commitment.
- Arrange literature for facility meetings and informational presentations for facility staff about what A.A. is and is not.
- Keep a current list of local treatment facilities and of the committees that take panels into them; cooperate with H&I committees, intergroups and groups.
- Provide the BTG District Kit (forms, guidelines and literature) to districts.
How to get involved
Any interested A.A. member — especially GSRs with knowledge of treatment issues — is welcome. The committee meets during Area meetings; e-mail the chair to take part between them. Volunteer as a Temporary Contact at area9btg.org.
How it is organized
Chair elected by the Area Assembly; Co-chair elected by the committee and confirmed by the Area (acts as chair if needed until the Area officers decide); Secretary (volunteer) keeps minutes and facility records. The committee holds a periodic inventory and prepares a budget each September. In Area 09 the Corrections Committee works as part of this service and uses the same Bridging the Gap website (area9btg.org).
A little history
Treatment and corrections service were combined in the Area’s H&I Committee until 2003, when the Assembly created separate Treatment Facilities and Correctional Facilities committees (the Conference did the same in 1977).
When we meet
Meets during the Area meeting break-out
The Area usually meets on the 2nd Sunday of the month (the calendar has each date), 9 AM–3 PM, in person and on Zoom; registration opens at 8 AM. Committees meet in break-out rooms during the meeting — ask at the registration table where yours is.
Area meetings: places, agendas and flyersWho serves
Panel 76There is a seat for you
This committee has open positions. Chairs are elected or confirmed at an Area meeting — write to the Area Chair to say you are interested, or come to the next meeting and introduce yourself.
Who served in Panel 74
- Teri M. · Treatment Facilities Chair
- Open position · Treatment Facilities Chair (Spanish)
First names and last initials only. The e-mail addresses belong to the service position, not the person, and pass to whoever serves next.
Guidelines & reports
Area committee guidelines
How this committee is organized in Area 09, as approved by the Assembly.
Earlier versions (1)
More copies in the document library (4)
Reports & records
Minutes, reports and flyers from the document library, newest first.
A.A. literature & service material
This service on aa.orgFrom the General Service Office (aa.org): guidelines, workbooks and pamphlets for this service, in English and Spanish. The codes help when ordering printed copies.
On aa.org1
A.A. Guidelines2
Workbooks1
Kits & resource lists1
Service material1
Frequently asked questions
What does a Temporary Contact actually do?
For a short time you meet the newcomer after they leave the facility, take them to a few different meetings, introduce them to other members, make sure they have phone numbers, and share your experience with sponsorship and a home group. That’s it — basic Twelfth Step work.
Is Treatment the same as H&I?
No. H&I committees are autonomous coordinate committees that take panels (meetings) into facilities. The Area Treatment Committee coordinates with them, runs Bridging the Gap and works with facility staff.
See something out of date? Tell the Web Servant: webmaster@msca09aa.org · edit the data file
Related committees & service
Hospitals & Institutions
Taking A.A. meetings to people who cannot get to one.
Tara F. · Alternate Delegate
Local H&I committees meet monthly; the So-Cal H&I Intergroup meets on the 4th Sunday
Corrections
Carrying the message behind the walls — and meeting people at the gate.
- Erika D. · English
- Open seat · Spanish
Every 4th Tuesday · 7:00–8:30 PM · also at the Area meeting
Cooperation with the Professional Community
Telling professionals what A.A. is — and what it is not.
- Louis T. · English
- Dario D. · Spanish
At the Area meeting break-out (usually the 2nd Sunday)
Accessibilities
So that no barrier keeps an alcoholic from the A.A. message.
- Bob K. · English
- Open seat · Spanish
Every 2nd Thursday · 7:00–8:00 PM