Narcotics Anonymous

Narcotics Anonymous is an international, community-based association of recovering drug addicts. It is a twelve-step program modeled on Alcoholics Anonymous. Started in 1947, the NA movement is one of the world's oldest and largest of its type, with nearly twenty thousand weekly meetings in seventy countries (Narcotics Anonymous, 2010). NA’s earliest self-titled pamphlet, known among members as “the White Booklet,” describes Narcotics Anonymous this way: “NA is a nonprofit fellowship or society of men and women for whom drugs had become a major problem. We ... meet regularly to help each other stay clean. ... We are not interested in what or how much you used ... but only in what you want to do about your problem and how we can help (Narcotics Anonymous, 2010).” Sunday, February 19 at 10:15 AM, I attended a Narcotics Anonymous meeting in the conference room of a park in my community. There were 22 men in the room seated in chairs arranged in a circle. The group included 17 African American men and 5 men of European decent. There was one gentleman there that appeared to be in his early twenties, an older man who appeared to be in his mid 60’s and everyone else looked to be between the ages of 35 and 50. The group leader sat behind a table in at the front of the room. He introduced himself and the group secretary just before he directed us all had to state our name and proclaim we were addicts (at this point my nerves were really bad). On the table there were books (for sale), a row of colored key chains (each color represented a period of time an addict was sober and there was chants that went along with each one), a large clear plastic container (for donations), an NA sign and a banner that had the letters R.A.W. (I never found out what that stood for) on it. Unbeknownst to me this meeting was a closed (closed to all non addicts) men only meeting. However because of NA’s open door policy, I was welcomed. Membership is open to all drug addicts, regardless of the particular drug or combination of drugs used (Narcotics Anonymous, 2010). The only requirement for attending a NA meeting is an addict with the desire to stop using drugs. Central to the program is an emphasis on what is referred to as a “spiritual awakening,” emphasizing its practical value. I noticed that most of the men at this meeting were well dressed, as if they were going to church. My initial thought was, maybe they were either coming from or going to church, however that was not the case. At the beginning of the meeting, the group leader asked that no one take offense to references made to God. Narcotics Anonymous itself is nonreligious and encourages each member to cultivate an individual understanding, religious or not, of this “spiritual awakening (Narcotics Anonymous, 2010). Members of NA learn the value of spiritual principles such as surrender, humility, and service from reading the NA literature, going to meetings and working the steps. The Spiritually Enriched Ecological Systems perspective is based upon the assumption that meaning is necessarily and essentially related to the goodness fit with one's environment. It assures that assessment and intervention begins at the basic level of client system’s beliefs, values, and perceptions, and their own personal agendas in attempting to find meaning in their lives (Theoretical Orientation for Social Work Practice). The ecological perspective acknowledges the interconnected relationship that exists between the individual and their environment. NA has only one mission: to provide an environment in which addicts can help one another stop using drugs and find a new way to live (Narcotics Anonymous, 2010). Discovering a new way to live life without abusing drugs is adapting to the environment. Adaptation is a concept used within the Ecological Perspective. Adaptations are continuous, change-oriented, cognitive, sensory–perceptual, and behavioral processes people use to sustain or raise the level of fit between themselves and their environment. Adaptations include actions to change the environment (including moving to new environments), or people themselves, or both, and then adapting to those changes and changes made by the environment in a never-ending process (Germain & Gitterman, 1995). Former addicts share their successes and challenges in overcoming active addiction and living drug-free, productive lives through the application of the principles contained within the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions of NA. There were former addicts in attendance who were drug free for one month to twenty years. During the meeting the leader held up a gambling chip and he said the chip represented the gamble you take with your live when you use drugs. He said that on one side of the chip you tape, what led you to recovery (one example was a near overdose or a time in jail) and on the other side you tape what will keep you sober (a child, spouse or higher power were some of the examples). The leader told the new comers that if you keep that chip in your pocket, every time you consider doing drugs, reach in your pocket and the chip will remind you of the gamble you are taking with your life. I observed a brotherhood, while watching the men in the group and they looked to each other for support. The new group members looked on enthralled and eager to find new ways to live their lives, when the former addicts shared their stories and strategies. I heard several stories of how some of the addicts abused drugs In order to cope with the stressors in their lives. Some of the stressors included, the lost of a loved one, neglect, abuse as a child and unemployment. One aspect of an addicts’ addiction was their inability to deal with life on its terms. In an effort to cope with the world and their environment, drugs were used as a coping mechanism. Coping measures are special behaviors, often novel, that are devised to handle the demands posed by the life stressor. They include efforts to regulate immobilizing, negative feelings and to engage in effective problem solving as required by the particular life stressor (Germain & Gitterman, 1995). Another facet of Ecosystems Theory is relatedness. Karen Kirsh-Ashman states that a person must experience a positive sense of relatedness in order to achieve a good person-in-environment fit (Kirsh-Ashman, 2008). Relatedness refers to attachments, friendships, positive kin relationships, and a sense of belonging to a supportive social network (Germain & Gitterman, 1995). NA’s primary focus is in providing a recovery environment whereby drug addicts can share their recovery experiences with one another (Narcotics Anonymous, 2010). One of the older men told a story about how he thought the luckiest night of his life turned out to be not so lucky after all. He paid no mind to the fact that I was in the room, when he told us (dropping the F and B bomb frequently) about an encounter he had with twins that he enjoyed until he realized they were only there for the cocaine he supplied. He expressed how much he would have enjoyed them, enjoying him without the drugs. Narcotics Anonymous groups are formed by addicts who want to support one another in recovery, in carrying the message to other addicts, and participating in the activities and services on NA. It is a recovery process and peer support network linked together. Narcotics Anonymous is also the supportive social network addicts have to get them through recovery.

Listening to the stories of these willful and resilient men, gave me newfound hope for the other oppressed members of my community. They celebrated each other, embraced one another and encouraged each other. There were anniversary celebrations of one month, seven months and several years. When the meeting was over they made sure I was well informed all NA’s services, and my power over my addiction (I didn’t want to spoil it, so I let them believe I was in need of recovery program). The most effective approach leading to healthy behaviors is a combination of the efforts at the individual, organizational, community, and public policy level. I doubt if many of the men who were present at the meeting would have remained sober as long as they have if it was not for Narcotics Anonymous.

-