MSCA - Mid Southern California Area 09 of Alcoholics Anonymous

Delegate's Bulletin Board

3 May 2020 Remote Communities

Personal Mission Statement: “I’m committed to being totally available and responsible to Mid-Southern California Area 09 members, to help provide a healthy infrastructure to communicate among individuals, Groups, Districts, Area, and the General Service Office, while using as few acronyms as possible!”

For this posting, I’d like to share the following article from Area 09’s Cooperation with the Professional (CPC) chair, Maryka de O. She has asked that Area 09 form an ad hoc committee to further discuss reaching remote communities … now that each of us has become a type of remote community!

“Where two or more people meet - there occurs a sacred event…” is a construct that consistently appears throughout world cultures, philosophies, religions and psychologies. If you think about it, such a decree is the very tenet of our AA Program and Community.

“However, it is not always possible to carry and receive the AA message through traditional, time-honed means. There are those groups, communities and individuals who are separated from AA as a whole because of language, geography, culture and socio-economic barriers.

“These vital AA members, recovering or still suffering, are more and more recognized by Alcoholics Anonymous as Remote Communities. Be it distance, health, custom, language or sexual diversity, it is inarguable that to include Remote Communities into the AA experience - one must begin to think outside the box.

“My name is Maryka and I am an Alcoholic. I currently serve as Mid-Southern California Area 09 CPC Chair. As a once homeless cancer patient participating in AA largely within the Spanish-speaking AA Community, I know firsthand the challenges facing Remote Community AA Members.

“Because of my experience of being cast, by circumstance, outside the normal confines of the AA Program and General Service, I keenly feel the desire to contribute and participate in the evolving AA response to Remote Communities.

“Although some would disagree, I believe that within my Area there are unequivocally, underserved AA members of Remote Communities. MSCA 09 has a large Spanish-speaking population. For example, despite Herculean efforts from our Area officers, this remote community could not fully engage and participate in our Pre Conference Workshop held on April 5, 2020.

“Because of the 2020 Health Pandemic, technology took center stage. Such media often does not translate cross culturally. Many Hispanic Area 09 members do not communicate through email, have internet or conversely, the technology we used failed in simultaneous translation.

“Also, there are those who are infirm and have great socio-economic barriers that prevent them from participating fully in our General Service structure, process and events. Be it finances, geography, health, language, culture or sexual diversification, not all of our Area 09 members can authentically engage in the greater whole that is Alcoholics Anonymous.

“For this reason, I am working on what is my first attempt to answer this need. Hopefully in May, I will be presenting a request via Zoom to my Area. At that time, I will ask our Area Chair to create an ad hoc Remote Communities Committee. This, I understand is the step before the formation of a Standing Committee.

“An ad hoc Remote Communities Committee for Area 09, comes with a small budget, which would enable us to begin with action-based solutions. First, we must brainstorm in a group (committee) to identify the different Remote Communities within our Area and isolate and identify their prospective needs.

“I do not profess to have all the answers. However, I strongly believe that by willingness to engage in the process with others - solutions come. Our Area is well funded. Perhaps we could establish a special fund through our Remote Communities Committee, to aid in travel and better technology for our remote Area members.

“Perhaps an Area 09 Remote Community Newsletter can be created and disseminated via both mail and email. There, all the highlights of Area Events and Service news, can be described, together with a mail-in portion to allow for mutual participation.

“At this juncture, I definitely do not possess all the answers. However, I do strongly believe that in the willingness to engage with others in the process - solutions come. I, for one, am hopeful, that in action and fellowship, our Area can better serve our Remote Communities. I look forward to learning from all of you.

“Thank you for allowing me to share.
Maryka d. O
MSCA 09 CPC Chair”

So, thanks to Maryka for the above article. I would just add that the ad hoc committee should, among other things, discuss the need to create a new Standing Committee versus the feasibility to accomplish goals identified by this committee in the existing Accessibilities Standing Committee.

Ed L, Panel 70 MSCA delegate,
msca09delegate70@yahoo.com
(760) 964-0012