Alateen is a branch of Ala-non headquartered out of Virginia Beach VA. They have a safety guidelines brochure G-34 addressing the minors in their care. They speak many times about how each area should review their local laws and regulations in regard to teens, as they vary from state to state. Unfortunately it does not tell members what state agencies for them to contact to find out this information.
As many of you know Alateen and Ala-non are based on 12 step principles. Some how they have managed to put into place safety guidelines for Sponsors and teens for their program. They have implemented procedures that AA/NA Corporate offices state they cannot possibly do, because it would break traditions. This is what they hide behind to have no accountability. Yet Alateen follows the very same 12 step principles, and their safety precautions are mandatory. In fact if a group is not compying, they will remove them as a group pronto! Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous refuse to have any safety guidelines and are flying under the radar when it comes to protecting minors or other vulnerable members of society.
I assume Alateen has taken this step to satisfy Insurance Companies and themselves from liability. Yet we have AA and NA going into high schools, juvenile detentions centers, and have literature stating you are basically never too young to join the adults in AA/NA. Yet they follow zero safety guidelines. DCF seems to look the other way. Why is this obvious lack of accountability with minors being ignored?
Courts are mandating level 3 sexual predators, rapists, and other violent felons to Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous everyday through out this country. AA and NA are aware of minors being sexually assaulted by AA members, yet they have voted to do nothing about it. Except to solicit more minors to attend dangerous meetings.
Plus many women have been raped and others killed,stabbed and financially scammed by 12 step members they met at meetings. There needs to be safety measures put into place to protect people attending meetings.
Here is the start of Alateens G-34 phamphlet-
Alateens are members of the Al-Anon fellowship who have suffered because of the alcoholism of a loved one. They have come to Alateen seeking recovery. Before recovery can take place, an environment of trust and safety must exist. It is the responsibility of Al-Anon and Alateen as a whole to work together to maintain a healthy, loving, and supportive environment.
These guidelines offer procedures for insuring the safety of Alateen members, their Sponsors and Al-Anon/Alateen as a whole. All guidelines, including the Alateen Safety Guidelines, offer the shared experience of Al-Anon/Alateen members. Following these guidelines is not a substitute for knowing and obeying the law of your area as it relates to minors. Each state and province has its own way of regulating these issues, and it is important that each person involved with Alateen is aware of and follows local legal requirements.
Read the rest!
http://www.al-anon-ak.org/cms_uploads/G34.pdf
