Starting a How It Works group
The following information will provide you with all you need to start a How It Works Group. What we share with you here is our experience from many years of Group Conscience meetings deciding how best to provide an answer to those suffering from alcoholism. There are currently many How It Works Groups in several different cities and towns worldwide.
-
The HIW Group format is the guideline of how all HIW Group meetings are to be conducted.This format is made up of guidelines developed by many years of Group Conscience meetings. Every single guideline is designed with consideration for the safety of the newcomer and all its members. This format, if used as presented, willensure a life free of addictions. The guidelines are listed in the back of the Daily Reader.
-
If your meeting is held in a facility that is your own, that is to say that it will be conducted in a room that you will need to furnish and maintain, then you will need to hold a Business Meeting to vote in thepurchase of chairs, tables, coffee maker, powder or liquid cream for the coffee, and every other detail of everything thatis purchased or put in place to hold a meeting. If your meeting is held in a church or community center, you may already have furniture available to you, a cleaning service provided, and they may or may not allow food. In this case you will need to hold a Business Meeting to discuss details of the meeting.
-
Most HIW Groups are held in a private facility where the space is rented and is used solely for the purpose of holding meetings. There are also HIW Groups or "clubrooms" as our members like to call them, that are held in churches or community centers, where the space is shared with others. Venues will vary depending upon what isavailable in your area and what you can afford. This is a matter for each founding member to discover and decide for themselves.
-
Service positions will vary depending upon your needs and may include positions such as a supply person who oversees stocking coffee, cups, cream, paper towels, toiletries, cleaning supplies, etc., Treasurer, Secretary, Chairperson, maintenance. Please see sample list of service positions, their responsibilities and length of sobriety needed for each position on page 224. Sample forms used at other HIW Groups are available from existing Group secretaries
-
1. Each member is encouraged to support the HIW Group program of recovery and its guidelines.
2. HIW Groups are open to everyone – all are welcome.
3. The format calls for meetings to be held twice a day every day of the year, if possible.
4. At each daily meeting, "24-hour chips" are offered to newcomers in their first day of sobriety. The group alsooffers 30-, 60- and 90-day chips. The first six months and annual lengths of sobriety are celebrated at a separate designated meeting, usually the last Friday or Saturday of the month at 6 p.m. or 8 p.m. The HIW Group calls this special celebration Cake Night.
5. Daily Readings from the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous (the first 164 pages, Dr. Bob's Nightmare and the Spiritual Experience) and from the HIW Group Daily Readings are the only literature shared in HIW Groupmeetings.
6. Meeting sharing is round-robin style starting with the meeting's leader, continuing member by member going around the circle. Each member, in turn, has only one opportunity to speak. No cross talking is allowed. Membersshare on the day's reading or pass to the next member in the circle. All meetings start and end promptly on time. All meetings are opened with the Third Step prayer (page 63 of the Big Book) and closed with the Seventh Step prayer(page 76 of the Big Book).
7. Group sponsorship rather than individual sponsorship.
8. Each group ends the meeting with Playing Dead followed by the morning or evening meditation found on pages86-88 of the Big Book. Meetings are then closed with the Seventh Step Prayer (please refer to sample meeting format available in sample forms on the website.
9. The Fifth Step is completed with a priest, minister or rabbi.
10. Children, animals, cell phones and other distractions/disruptions are inappropriate and not permitted.
11. All HIW Groups are fully self-supported by voluntary contributions. Each group always maintains a prudent reserve covering at least two to three months of expenses.
12. A 19-week series of Sunday morning Big Book Study Meetings begins in January and ends in May. The 19-weekBig Book study audio and materials are found on the HIW Group App.
We hold five Zoom meetings every day of the year.
USA - Pacific
4:00am
7:30am
11:00am
2:30pm
10:30pm
USA - Eastern
1:30am
7:00am
10:30am
2:00pm
5:30pm
UK - GMT/BST
6:30am
12:00pm
3:30pm
7:00pm
10:30pm
EU
7:30am
1:00pm
4:30pm
8:00pm
11:30pm