Please refer to this link at NA World Services for more information about starting a new meeting.
Here are some guidelines for starting a new Narcotics Anonymous meeting in your community.
A minimum of two NA members is suggested. It is suggested that at least a 1 year commitment be made from both people starting the meeting to allow for consistency and stability. If you are not an NA member but want to start a meeting anyway, it may be best to get in touch with your local NA Area Service Committee to ask for help.
- The Seacoast Area of NA in NH meets the first Sunday of each month† at the Wentworth-Douglas Hospital, Community Conference Room, 789 Central Ave., Dover, NH, at 6:00PM.
- The Granite State Area of NA ASC meets the second Sunday of each month† at 9:00am at the VA Hospital on Smyth Road in Manchester on the first floor.
(† Unless changed for holidays or bad weather. Check the website www.gsana.org for news and notices or call our NH 24 Hour Help line).
As our NA literature states (i.e. our Group Booklet and The Group Information Pamphlet), it is important to ensure the group will be reliable in starting each and every week and begin and end on time within the facility where it meets.
Ultimately, the success of a group relies heavily on its members, and each member’s ability to successfully carry the clear and concise message of Narcotics Anonymous.
Having the group trusted servant positions (Secretary, Treasurer, Group Service Representative, Chairperson, etc.) filled is very important.
Some suggestions for getting a meeting going:
- Locate the new meeting in a town or a city that has a clear need and demand for a new NA meeting.
- Do the footwork to locate a facility in which to meet. This includes churches, hospitals, or other community buildings. Having a meeting in a treatment or detox center may not be a good idea if the possibility of conflict with NA’s 12 Traditions exists. Depending on what NA Area you are starting the meeting in, the Area Service Committee may have a set of guidelines established for legal purposes if and when NA groups must sign a facility lease or rental agreement.
In the Granite State Area of NA, we are a 501(c)(3) non profit corporation, and our Board of Directors (BOD) has legal directives for insurance purposes.
If the facility in which you want to meet requires a lease, rental, or some other signed agreement, this paperwork MUST be reviewed by the BOD prior to it being signed. You can view/download/print this paperwork at this link. This process can add significant time to your plans for starting the meeting, but must be completed. - Maintaining good ongoing communications with the facility is important. Knowing when the facility may be closed for holidays, bad weather, or some other event is taking place is imperative. If a facility key is obtained, ensure that it is available each week to a reliable group trusted servant to open the door, and ensure the key does not get misplaced.
- Also, as part of NA’s 7th Tradition, we cannot meet for free in any facility. NA groups must be fully self-supporting, so a monthly rent must be paid to any facility that allows us to meet. The amount of this rent depends on both the facilities requirements as well as our new group’s ability for fund flow via “passing the basket” during the meeting. General rent fees in NH are usually between $10 and $30 a month. Anything more than that might be a factor in possibly finding an alternative meeting location that would less expensive.
The monthly rent fee to the facility should be submitted on time using a non cash form of payment, such as a cashiers check or money order. Personal checks are not recommended. A receipt for payment should also be obtained each month and given to the groups’ secretary for record keeping. - Publicize the fact that a new meeting in the community will be starting. Notify the NA Area Service Committee body as soon as possible, to get the word out to the rest of the NA fellowship. We can publish your new group information on our website. Please allow for at least a four week lead time in doing this. Putting anonymous Public Service Announcements in local papers, on the web, cable community access TV, etc. can also be considered. All wording used for these endeavors should come from and be reviewed by the Public Information Committee within the Area your new meeting will reside in.
- Obtain a “Group Starter Kit”. This kit contains all a group needs for literature to get up and running. Most Area Service Committees will have some of these kits available to new groups who request them. It is suggested that your groups’ representative (or Group Service Representative) attend the next ASC meeting to announce, request, and obtain this kit, and have it available for use at your first NA meeting.
- The Granite State Area of NA has an Outreach Committee which can assist in your efforts to get the new meeting going. This committee is a group of NA members that help overcome the isolation which hinders the growth, survival, and unity of our local groups and individual NA members.
- The Granite State Area of NA has a Group Resource Portal web page that contains a plethora of downloadable and printable group format documents. These include:
Sample NA Group Meeting Format
Sample NA Group Secretary’s Report Format
Sample NA Group Business Meeting Format
Our NA Image and What Each Group Should Know
NA World Service – A Guide to Local Services – 2005
… plus other resources
These documents are very helpful to getting your group established and running smoothly.
- Finally, once your group is up and running, please make sure to register it with NA World Services. This is to ensure your group is registered in the NAWS database, and that anyone searching for a meeting can find it. You can visit the NAWS website for the online new group registration form (located here). It is best to use your Area Service Committee address as the Group’s mailing address, rather than an individual group member.
Within New Hampshire, your group will fall under either the Granite State Area or Seacoast Area Service Committees, and the Region for both is the Northern New England Region.
Please refer to this link at NA World Services for more information about starting a new meeting.
If you have any questions or concerns, you can contact NA in NH online here, or call our 24 hour helpline number at 1-888-NA-Help-U / 1-888-624-3578
and Press 3 to leave a message to have an NA Trusted Servant return your call.
Please make sure to clearly state your name and phone number in your message.