While there are no special AA members, many members have special needs. AA’s with special needs are those persons who are blind or visually impaired; deaf or hard of hearing’ chronically ill or home bound, those who are developmentally disabled, and many others who may have less visible challenges.
Some AA entities are attempting to meet such needs by forming Accessibilities Committees. Since the goal is to make AA accessible, some committees refer to themselves as Accessibilities Committees. Due to Area 86 being in Canada and understanding that parts of Canada are Remote, many committees in Canada also have included the Remote Communities as part of this same committee. For Remote Communities the definition is being remote by culture, language and geography.
In some localities committees refer to themselves as those that they represent but all would fall under the Accessibilities/Remote Communities Committee for Area 86.
The members of a Accessibilities/Remote Community Committee explore, develop and offer resources to make the AA message and participation in our program available to everyone who reaches out for it.
In the interests of good communication and working together, Accessibilities/Remote Communities Committees are encouraged to keep their area Committees and local central/intergroup offices informed of their activities. It is also helpful to work closely with committees handling Public Information and Cooperation with the Professional Community in terms of keeping the public and appropriate agencies informed about AA being Accessible to alcoholics with special needs.
AA for the Older Alcoholic — Never to Late
A.A. for the Alcoholic With Special Needs