Alcoholics Anonymous is an international fellowship of men and women who have had a drinking problem. It is nonprofessional, self-supporting, multiracial, apolitical, and available almost everywhere. There are no age or education requirements. Membership is open to anyone who wants to do something about his or her drinking problem.
AA movement is considered to have begun in 1935 in the United States, when two alcoholics discovered that by discussing their drinking and alcoholism with other alcoholics, they achieved sobriety and began to recover.
The spiritual basis of the movement is the twelve-step recovery program. The experiences of AA groups’ activities have become the Twelve Traditions, which help us work together. In addition, Alcoholics Anonymous uses The Twelve Concepts as the principles of service.
Our basic text, Alcoholics Anonymous – The story of how more than a hundred men have recovered from alcoholism, published in 1939, explains how an alcoholic can recover from alcoholism.
At the moment, AA functions in approximately 180 countries and has a assessed number of membership of 2.3 million worldwide. In Finland, AA has been present since 1948. AA groups in our country total almost to 700 in approximately 260 locations. In Helsinki area alone, there are approximately 137 AA groups, arranging 175 meetings per week.
In Helsinki, there are several AA meetings which are held in English.
For AA literature and more info, feel free to use these other AA sites:
The official Web site of the General Service Office (G.S.O.) of Alcoholics Anonymous