THE FELLOWSHIP AND THE PROGRAM
What is Heroin Anonymous (H.A.)? Heroin Anonymous is both a fellowship of individuals who have found a solution to heroin addiction as well as a spiritual program of 12-Steps that enables us to live a life of sobriety. What is the fellowship? What is the program? Why is it important to make this distinction between the two? By describing both parts, we hope to answer these questions.
The Fellowship
The fellowship of Heroin Anonymous is made up of heroin addicts who meet regularly to help each other stay sober. Put simply, the fellowship is the sum of all individuals who define themselves as members. The Heroin Anonymous Preamble defines the roles and requirements for membership as follows: The only requirement for membership in the fellowship of H.A. is a desire to stop suffering from heroin addiction. There are no dues or fees for H.A. membership; we are self-supporting through our own contributions. H.A. is not allied with any sect, denomination, politics, organization or institution; does not engage in any controversy, neither endorses nor opposes any causes. Our primary purpose is to stay sober and help other heroin addicts achieve sobriety. It is in the fellowship that many of us have found camaraderie and connection with a community of individuals we can relate to and who suffer from the same condition. In the fellowship, we find our sponsors, homegroups, and people we can serve alongside to help others. We have found that Unity is at the heart of the fellowship. For many of us, the fellowship has become a new home. When we first entered Heroin Anonymous, it was the fellowship that greeted us with open arms and helped lead us to a solution to our heroin addiction. Most of our members will emphatically state that without the fellowship, we would not be where we are today.
The Program
Although the fellowship is a home for us and is instrumental in our sobriety, it alone is insufficient to achieve and maintain sobriety. This is where the program of H.A. comes in, which is adapted from the Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous. The program consists of actions we take in our daily lives to help us stay sober and find the freedom we seek. We discover that when working the Twelve Steps of Heroin Anonymous, our problem is removed and we no longer need heroin as a solution for our suffering. Inversely, we find that unless we are practicing this spiritual program, our sobriety is often precarious. In this pamphlet, you will find the Twelve Steps of Heroin Anonymous, which is our program of recovery.
The Fellowship and the Program
Many of us come to the fellowship of H.A. seeking a solution for our heroin addiction. Sometimes, when only attending meetings, we threw up our hands in despair, saying, “H.A. doesn’t work!” It was not until other members of our fellowship introduced us to the Program of H.A. that we were able to find sobriety. Today, we understand that the Fellowship and the Twelve Step Program of Heroin Anonymous are both vital components of our sobriety. In our Fellowship, you will see heroin addicts sincerely applying the Twelve Steps in their lives, helping one another, freely passing on their experience to the next person who is desperately searching for a way out of their own heroin addiction.
