District-level meetings attended by General Services Representatives (GSR) for local Ottawa area groups are held as follows:
District 54 (Ottawa Rideau) East - First Thursday of each month at 6:30 PM at the Overbrook Community Centre, 33 Quill Street.
Meetings are on Zoom. Email district54@ottawaaa.org for link.
District 58 (Ottawa Bytown) Centre
District 62 (Ottawa West) - Second Monday of each month at 7:30 PM at All Saints Church (Rear Entrance).
Meetings are temporarily on Zoom. Email district62@ottawaaa.org for link.
The three Ottawa Area Districts support local committees that fulfill key roles and outreach operations in support of our primary purpose. They are: Public Information (PI) and Cooperation with the Professional Community, Correctional Facilities and Treatment (CFT) and Ottawa Archives. Each committee role is explained in the other sections on this page.
Public Information (PI) and Cooperation with the Professional Community (CPC)
This dual function committee conveys A.A. information to the general public, including the media.
Public Information
Following are examples of the committee's work:
Health Fairs - PIC participates by handing out Literature, meeting lists, and answering questions at local Health Fair as required.
Secondary Schools - PIC provides AA publications including Big Books, Living Sober, The Twelve and Twelve, and "In our Own Words" to school libraries and student service departments.
Cooperation with Professionals
Professionals who work with alcoholics share a common purpose with Alcoholics Anonymous: to help the alcoholic stop drinking and lead a healthy, productive life.
Alcoholics Anonymous is a nonprofit, self-supporting, entirely independent fellowship— “not allied with any sect, denomination, politics, organization or institution.” Yet A.A. is in a position to serve as a resource to you through its policy of “cooperation but not affiliation” with the professional community.
The committee welcomes requests from professionals. Here are some ways they help:
Provide speakers for information sessions on A.A.
Meet informally with groups of professionals
Provide literature and audio/visual materials to professional staff
Provide literature and audio/visual materials for patients/clients
Provide a link to A.A. groups in the community for patients/clients
Attend open AA meetings or local events with professionals.
More Resources for Professionals:
If You are a Professional...
How A.A. Members Cooperate with Professionals
This is A.A.: An Introduction to the A.A. Recovery Program
The Committee meets on the fourth Monday of the month (not always the last Monday) at 7:00 pm. Meeting is online on Zoom ID 815 4385 6025, password - PICPC.
AA visitors are welcome.
The committee can be contacted at pi@ottawaaa.org or cpc@ottawaaa.org.
Correctional Facilities and Treatment (CFT)
The primary purpose of this committee is to carry the AA message to alcoholics both behind the walls of Correctional Facilities and in Treatment Facilities. The CFT Committee also supports the 'Bridging the Gap' program which links AA members to AA meetings after their release.
Areas of Service
Ottawa Withdrawal Management Center has invited AA once again to hold introductory meetings twice weekly.
Tuesday and Friday at 7:00 pm.
Groups and members interested in this valuable form of service are asked to email owmc@ottawaaa.org to be added to the schedule.
Members will be provided with guidelines to assist in carrying the message to the newly recovered alcoholic.
Withdrawal Management Centre (OWMC) If members are interested in this type of service the liaison is comprising a list of volunteers and groups. Send an email or contact phone number to owmc@ottawaaa.org.
IMPORTANT: Specific guidelines must be followed by groups hosting meetings at the OWMC.
Ottawa Carleton Detention Centre - contact the committee for dates, times and access requirements.
How to Get Involved
Volunteers are needed Tuesdays and Fridays for 7:00 pm meetings. Contact owmc@ottawaaa.org. or call The Intergroup Office and leave your contact information
In most cases, AA members must have a minimum of 2 years of sobriety.
The Committee normally meets on the fourth Tuesday of each month at the Bronson Centre (Intergroup Office) at 6:30 pm but are currently meeting online due to Covid-19. Zoom ID 815 5183 4935, passcode 521429.
AA visitors are welcome.
Please contact the CFT Committee at cft@ottawaaa.org for more information.
This is our town in the 1940s. The second building on the right was the location of the first document AA meeting in Ottawa. The building is still there. Do you recognize it?
The mission of the Ottawa AA Archives is to document permanently the work of Alcoholics Anonymous in the Ottawa area; to make its history accessible to AA members and other researchers; and to provide a context for understanding AA's progression, principles and traditions in the Ottawa area.
The Archives Committee meeting is resuming in-person meetings and they will take place on the 3rd Wednesday of the month from 6:30-7:30pm, at the Intergroup Office, Bronson Centre, 211 Bronson Ave, #108
Please contact the Archives Committee at archives@ottawaaa.org for more information.