Narcotics Anonymous Member Dustin Spencer Totten attended his California NA meeting with his fellow NA member friend. He then steals the mans car and goes on a wild crime spree, threating to kill people, trying to rob others and ramming cars. When finally arrested he smelled of alcohol and had pills on him. Continue reading
When Kenneth Wilkinson, 22 was a minor he was mandated to Alcoholics Anonymous for 60 days. With the court not allowing him to drive until he was 21 also put pressure on the youth. How do you get to 60 AA Meetings when you can’t drive?
For reasons unknown, this man dragged his 84 year old grandfather who had Alzheimer’s, behind his truck for 6 miles to his death. One can’t help but feel that maybe sending a minor to AA meetings was NOT what this boy needed. He did not go to all of the AA meetings. Most minors do not feel comfortable with the message of powerlessness, or the fact that most participants are much older. Yet some courts are sending minors to AA and NA meetings, even though they have no meetings specifically for them.
Willits man charged with murder appears in court
By TIFFANY REVELLE The Daily Journal
Updated: 03/21/2012 02:11:59 PM PDT
Kenneth Wilkinson, 22, was in Mendocino County Superior Court today to be arraigned on a murder charge and a special allegation that he tortured his grandfather, Richard Mel Wilkinson, 84. Reliable sources said Tuesday that the younger Wilkinson allegedly killed his grandfather by dragging him behind a truck for nearly six miles Saturday night while left to care for him for a few hours, possibly in a drug-induced psychosis. “He’s not a violent person,” Kenneth Wilkinson’s mother, Kris Pearce, said outside the courtroom Wednesday while waiting for the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Department to transport her son from county jail for his court appearance. “This is completely out of character for him.” Public Defender Linda Thompson took the case and said she needed a week to prepare for the young man’s arraignment, which was rescheduled for 8:30 a.m. March 29 in courtroom A. He remains at the jail under a no-bail hold in the meantime.
Pearce said her son had never been diagnosed with a mental illness but had struggled emotionally throughout his life, having been picked on at school as the “skinny kid.” As an adult, he had a drug and alcohol problem, but said his drinking wasn’t heavy, according to Pearce.
Kenneth had been in court in 2008 for an allegation that he had possessed alcohol as a minor, and had been put on a deferred judgment plan. The arrangement meant the charge would be dropped on the condition that he attend 60 days of Alcoholics Anonymous meetings
in the year’s length of the plan, but according to the Mendocino County Superior Court, he didn’t comply. Pearce said that sent him into a “vicious cycle,” where he could not get a driver’s license until he was 21, making it hard for him to get a job and take care of his court obligations.
http://www.ukiahdailyjournal.com/ci_20223569/man-accused-killing-grandfather-court
These two Mom’s met at an AA meeting and ended up starting ‘Mothers With A Purpose’. If you notice all they are offering the teens is to attend AA and NA meetings. They do not point out that AA and NA have no meetings for minors. There are only adult meetings with court mandated felons. It is great to see an effort being put out to reach teens.
They need to offer them something other than the 12 step program. www.smartrecovery.org has teen literature for those that want to start a teen meeting in their area that is non-religious and science based.
Local Moms Fighting That Drug Problem on Our Doorstep
Meet the Pleasanton moms and founders of Mothers with a Purpose, who want to beat the pervasive drug problem through education.
By Autumn Johnson and Tanya Rose Email the authors March 8, 2012
In July of 2010, when Donna and Kelly spearheaded Mothers With a Purpose, a group that provides support and raises awareness for families battling prescription pill addictions, they had no idea they would end up foraging friendships from working through the pain. The duo met when Kelly recognized Donna’s son while attending an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting with her own son. The two mothers connected and realized their children were going through a similar battle of prescription drug addiction.
After meeting for hours and crying over the agony of the opiate addictions their children were fighting, they decided to take action and to start a support group. They have asked that their last names not be used, to protect the privacy of themselves and their families. Donna recruited other families in the community who were suffering from the same problem. The group rapidly grew from the two tenacious mothers to now close to 100 people.
“Forty years ago, addicts were seen as the scum of the earth,” said a former addict, who has spoken before the group about his own struggles in an effort to help Pleasanton kids who are suffering. “Today, it can be a child from a family that makes a million dollars. It’s not someone who lives in alleys; it’s your own neighborhoods.”
Mothers With a Purpose meets on the second and fourth Thursdays of every month at Foothill High School in Pleasanton. They welcome anyone who wants to attend and both say it takes courage to walk through the door of those meetings to face and work through their worst fears.
The former speaker said that before Mothers with a Purpose, there wasn’t really an organization out there solely for support.”The best way to get help was to talk to another parent in the same situation,” he said. “There’s no place to turn — it’s not like you can go to church and ask around. It’s really a hidden thing.”
“Everyone is hurting from something,” says Donna.
According to Donna, the mission statement of the group is to provide total awareness, support and resources to those children and families confronting and struggling with the disease of addiction.
The group, which has recently become a non-profit organization, has had overwhelming support from the Pleasanton Police Department, the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office, the Mayor’s Office in Pleasanton and the Pleasanton Unified School District.
In addition to the bi-monthly meetings and a website that offers many resources, Donna and Kelly attend local drug and alcohol forums. They often bring children to speak who are recovering addicts. After the forums, parents usually thank the pair for their candor. Both agree that the disease of addiction, specifically prescription pill addiction, is a nation-wide problem. Locally, they say the knowledge of this problem in the schools and in the community still shocks residents.
Donna says every parent should have to go through a class before their kids start school. “[This experience] teaches you different areas you need to balance,” says Kelly. “I look at life differently now. When it happens, you are a fish out of water. It is a life-time journey.”
Donna says her biggest challenge in starting the group has been standing up in public forums. For Kelly, the biggest challenge has been getting parents to listen. “Listening is what is going to cause change,” said Kelly. “The only way to beat this is to educate people.”
“It is our recovery too,” added Donna. “If I had had this education growing up, maybe things would have been different,” the forum speaker said. “I didn’t even know what an alcoholic was; I just knew that I did drugs and I did it well and I loved it. Every day, I struggled with addiction but now I have tools so I don’t need to do drugs. I can cope with life.
“It is all about the parents being educated,” he says, noting that he knows of a parent of a drug-addicted teen who wanted to take her own life, because she didn’t know what else to do and felt so desperate.
http://pleasanton.patch.com/articles/prescription-pill-problem-on-your-doorstep
Now this is rich, some AA members are actually showing concern for minors at meetings and wanting to do something about it. Yet they are shot down, because of liability concerns. If they admit there is a problem with minors not being safe at AA meetings, then you are looking at liability concerns. For anyone reading this in AA, let it be known that MANY people are aware of this problem including AA headquarters In New York City. We know you know! There is no way to pretend that you do not know. It is an outrageous statement to come back with. They put it all on the groups themselves. To protect minors in AA should be a priority that includes AA headquarters. Of course anything each group decides to do to protect minors in meetings would be helpful.They can stop inviting minors, not allow mandated minors and stop having youth outreach campaigns to have minors come to adult AA meetings! You need to look at what Alateen does to protect minors.
Here are some of the highlights presented by our Southeast Regional Trustee
The General Service Board received a request to develop a policy on making the rooms safe for young people who are coming to AA. They wanted to be sure minors are being protected. We received all kinds of background material as to why our rooms aren’t safe from predators. The idea was sent to the General Service Board, and the board sent it to a committee. The committee deliberated and said we want the rooms safe for everybody. The question is, is that just in the AA meeting room or is that outside the meeting room’ The Board had a discussion as to what do we do’ The decision was that it was the responsibility of each group. All that we could do as a Board is to say that it is the responsibility of each group. Part of that is because we have no authority to tell groups how they need to function or what they need to do. That’s the groups’ autonomy. The other part is that we may not know what the issues may be in your group or your community. We need to work hard to make sure the rooms are safe.
Question ‘ Would it be reasonable to have a service piece on the safety in the rooms of AA that might open the eyes of the fellowship’
Answer ‘ I am not an attorney but we have had counsel indicate that if you say there may be a problem and you don’t do something about it, and there is a problem, then you may be liable because you have said there may be a problem. The best way of saying it is, if we print anything that says there may be a problem then if there is a problem then we got a problem. We not only struggle with the spiritual responsibilities but the legal responsibilities in providing information. So the board decided to send people out, like me, and you to do something about it. If your Area feels like we need a written piece, then that is where the voice needs to come.
http://www.area26.net/Reports/2010-10-9-10_Area_26_Reports_For_Oct_2010.htm#District_26
Here we go with NA promoting the attendance of teens with there own brochure just for youth. Read it and weep. Unbelievable.This should be against the law to treat minors without a substance abuse treatment license.
Here is a pathetic excerpt encouraging minors to talk to Narcotics Anonymous about their experiences with sex and orientation! NA has no business encouraging minors to speak to untrained and non professional members including sexual offenders and violent felons about their sex life. Sounds perverted.Cant believe NA has this in a printed booklet for minors.
Sex, Drugs, and . . . As young members, coming to terms with our sexuality in recovery can be difficult. Our experiences with sex can include anything from our sexual orientation to break-ups, pregnancy, unmanageability, confusion, and shame or guilt about things we’ve done or things that happened to us. We’ll hear lots of opinions and suggestions about sex and relationships in recovery. We may not always listen to what others have to say, but we can make an effort to talk openly with our sponsor and other members we trust. Sometimes our feelings about sex and relationships make drugs start to seem like a solution again. Instead, we share what we’re going through and ask for guidance and support. Recovery will help us get through our feelings clean. When we share honestly about ourselves, we’re an example for others.
http://web.na.org/admin/include/spaw2/uploads/files/EN3113_2008.pdf
Young peoples groups in Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) are extremely dangerous events from a personal safety stand point. ICYPAA events are organized by older members of AA who are and continue to remain Anonymous. You have a hard time running background checks on people who remain anonymous, something that is normally done in choosing a daycare, nanny or house keepers. Unfortunately because of publicity many parents and schools will help to send children and young adults to these events run by older AA members who may have a history of sexual assault or violence that is not known because they hide under the cloak on anonymity that AA provides. You would not hire a daycare, nanny or house keeper to take care of your family if you could not find out about them.
In 2007-2008 a classic example of the stalking and sexual assaults present in Young Peoples Groups in AA was uncovered in the MidTown expose of the Q Group in Washington. The links are still there and can be easily found by a search engine. The sexual perversion of this rogue AA group was especially dangerous to the youth attending AA in their Young Peoples Groups. When the legal implications of what this rogue AA group was doing to the youth under their care became too much, they moved their operations to Tampa Florida and California to the San Diego and San Francisco areas. Washington has calmed down with sexual predators in AA for the time being because of this. Any AA young peoples groups in Florida or California should be looked at carefully to determine their link to MidTown. Remember, you are dealing with a group of older people organizing an event that are Anonymous and could very wellbe tied to the MidTown group or a sexual predator. Care should be taken when sending any of your loved ones to any AA Young Peoples events in Florida or California.
JR HarrisAugust 8, 2011
Midtown Group In Washingtond D.C. is a classic example how AA has no accountability.Even though AA headquarters located in New York City was well aware of the financial and sexual abuses going on at the Midtown Group they continue to ignore and take no responsibility for the actions of it’s members that it takes money from to fatten it’s bank account to pay the executives in New York Big Bucks!
http://blog.washingtonpost.com/rawfisher/2007/07/midtown_group_aa_group_leads_m.html