2012 CAR 57 The Grup Supprt Unit Carrying the Message Grup fcused: The grup supprt unit (GSU)) fcuses n effrts t carry ur message. aiding the grups in their The primary purpse f an NA grup is t carry the message f recvery t the addict wh still suffers.... The grup is the primary vehicle by which ur message is carried. It prvides a setting in which a newcmer can identify with recvering addicts and find an atmsphere f recvery. Fifth Traditin The GSU is intended t help grups better carry the message within their meetings by separating ut the grup supprt functin frm the business f NA. The GSU gives grups the pprtunity t share prblems they may be encuntering and t seek slutins frm each ther, while aviding the distractin f discussins abut cmplex services prvided utside the grup. By functining as a discussin based gathering f the lcal NA cmmunity, the GSU will ffer an attractive alternative that cmplements the ther mree business riented servicee meetings. The GSU is intended t be like a cmmunity r neighbrhd gathering, nt anther level f service. Sme f the kinds f things that happen at GSU meetings include: The Grup Bklet, page 2 Each grup has but ne primary purpse t carry the message t the addict wh still suffers. Infrmal training and mentring Discussin f grup issues, grup sharing n business Welcming and utreach t new grups and members The NA grup will always be the single mst effective way we as a fellwship carry the message. Many ff ur fellwship discussin tpicss ver the last few cnference cycles have centered n strengthening grups. All t ften in ur current service structure, hwever, grups feel unsupprted, like they have nwhere t g t talk abut the issues mst immediately affecting them. Orientatin and intrductin t service (recvery literature & service literature, traditins, cncepts, etc.) Infrmal infrmatin sharing (e.g., upcming events, LSU activities, new literature items, NAWS issuess tpics) Sending a delegate t the annual planning assembly In sme instances r circumstances, GSUs may be asked t be invlved in sme servicee delivery (e.g., putting up PI flyers in thee cmmunity) Size and Attendance GSU attendance is pen. Grups send a delegate and any interested member can cme as well. In sme cases, a cmmunity may decide t send a liaisn frm the LSU r t make a special effrt t invite veteran servicee members rr members with expertise in a particular area. Invitatins are at the discretin f a lcal cmmunity; what is cnsistentt is that grups send a trusted servant and that anyne wh wants t attend is welcme. The GSU is intended t be a neighbrhd sized bdy firmly rted in its lcal recvery cmmunity. Typically a number f GSUs will be fund within the gegraphic area f the LSU. Service System Prpsal Reprt fr Discussin @ WSC 2012
58 2012 CAR The LSU n the ther hand has the fcus f delivering services, and therefre is, where pssible and practical, sized t cnfrm with recgnized bundaries such as cunties, twnships, and s n. The GSU has a less frmal atmsphere than fund in many current service meetings. Structure and prcedures shuld als be as infrmal as pssible. The GSU meeting will nt nly assist grups, but will als serve t intrduce new members t the basic principles f service. Our hpe is that an imprved atmsphere will encurage mre members, bth experienced and new, t attend and prepare them t serve at ther service bdies. Administratin f the GSU There are a number f different ptins fr administering a GSU. Recvery grups culd take turns hsting the grup supprt unit, r the LSU culd play sme part in administering r hsting the GSU, r there culd be sme srt f administrative cmpnent within the GSU itself. The key is t keep it simple, infrmal, and fcused n grup supprt rather than its wn administratin. There shuld be a frmat fr the meeting but nt much structure. In essence, it desn t have t be much mre r less frmal than a recvery meeting. There shuld be a facilitatr that can rtate r be a cnsistent persn, whatever makes the mst sense fr the GSU and prvides the least amunt f administrative distractin. Key challenges in ur current structure Grups d nt always receive help t deal with specific issues like drug curt attendees in meetings. Members are ften unwilling r apathetic abut service. There is ften a lack f NA unity and a cmmn purpse. Members are nt always trained in the basics f service. Key slutins prvided by a GSU Grup supprt is its main fcus. The GSU is an infrmal, discussin based bdy, pen t everyne interested in attending. The GSU increases unity within lcal NA cmmunities by bringing grups tgether and strengthening their ability t carry the NA message. It ffers an pprtunity t intrduce new members t service and help them learn abut the basic principles f service. The GSU s pen atmsphere ideally will help t empwer, invlve, and value each participant and assist them in their persnal grwth. Optins fr the GSU: Linear, Tw track, and Variatins In ur first draft prpsals we utlined tw pssible ptins fr the relatinship between the GSU and LSU: the tw track ptin and the linear ptin. These allw fr grups t either send a delegate frm their GSU t the LSU (the linear ptin), r send a delegate t bth the GSU meeting and the LSU (the tw track ptin). Each cmmunity has different needs, and ur thinking was that the linear mdel may fit ne cmmunity better, but the tw track mdel might wrk better fr anther cmmunity, while sme adaptatin f the tw may wrk best fr a third. The mre we have discussed hw lcal services might functin, hwever, particularly the idea f a quarterly LSU meeting with an annual planning assembly attended by all grups, the mre the tw track mdel seems t make the mst sense t us. Fr ne thing it Service System Prpsal Reprt fr Discussin @ WSC 2012
2012 CAR 59 will keep the fcus in the GSU exclusively n grup needs rather than the need t cmmunicate ideas and decisins t and frm the lcal servicee bdy. Als, with the LSU meeting quarterly it desn t seem t burdensme fr grups t send a delegate t bth the GSU and LSU. In sme cases as well, the GSU might meet every ther mnth, in which case, grups wuld need t send a delegate t ten ttal meetings. Furr LSU meetings and six GSU meetings is fewer than a mnthly ASC which is the nrm in many places nw. Linear Optin: Nnetheless, the linear ptin may still make the mst sense in sme cmmunities. This ptin makes the GSU a part f the delegatin stream between the grup and the rest f the NA servicee structure. The GSU wuld have the respnsibility f selecting a delegate t attend the LSU. We call it the delegatin stream because delegatin (selecting a trusted servant t attend n behalf ff the grup r GSU) is what cnnects the grup t the LSU, the LSU t the state/natin/prvince servicee bdy, and the state/natin/prvince bdy t the glbal level f NA. This is hw the grup s vice is heard and hw it impacts the decisin making prcess. Resurces and infrmatinn flw back and frth acrss the delegatin stream, and careful delegatin allws fr services t be accuntable t grups. The advantages t the linear mdel are that a grup need nly send a trusted servant t ne bdy, the GSU. It s als pssible that the GSU might functin better as a kind f training grund r rientatin t the srt f service prvided at the LSU if it s within the delegatin stream. This clse cnnectin t the LSU, hwever, is ne f the disadvantages as well. It s mre likely that the fcus f the GSU wuld shift if the GSU were respnsible t select a delegate and carry infrmatin back and frth frm the LSU. Depending n hw the LSU is set up and hw cmmunicatinn functins in the cmmunity, it s als pssible that the linear ptin may make the grups feel mre distant frm the LSU, the bdy that prvides services n their behalf. Tw track Optin: In the tw track ptin, the grupp sends a delegate t bth the GSU and the LSU. Perhaps the biggest advantage t this ptin is thatt the GSU wuld be able t fcus slely n discussing grup issues and wuldd nt need t send a delegate t the LSU. This wuld preserve the simplicity f the GSU meeting. The disadvantage, hwever, is that grups wuld als have t find a delegate t attend the LSU meeting, r ask the same persn t attend bth the GSU and the LSU. As we ve already mentined, if the LSU meeting is a planning cnference that happens three r fur times a year as utlined belw, rather than a mnthly r bimnthly meeting, it may be less daunting fr grups t send a trusted servant t bth the LSU and GSU. Certainly the decisin whether t pt fr a tw track r linear ptin shuld be made in relatin t the whle system f service. Variatins: Sme cmmunities may decide t havee GSU meetings less ften (every ther mnth instead f every mnth) t ease the strain n human resurces. In mst places, there will be several GSUs fr each LSU, but in thee case f small r rural cmmunities, the ppulatins may be rughly the same. In a rural part f a state where there are, fr instance, eight meetings in a given cunty, thse same eight meetings may gather t crdinate cunty wide services and t discuss grup needs. In these cases, cmmunities may even decide t alternate GSU meetings and LSU meetings, r t devtee the first half f a service The final respnsibility and authrity fr meeting t the GSU and the secnd half t the LSU. NA services restss with the NA grups. It s imprtant t nte that this wuld be Twelve Cncepts fr NA Service exceptinal. Secnd Cncept Service System Prpsal Reprt fr Discussin @ WSC 2012
60 2012 CAR Service System Prpsal Reprt fr Discussin @ WSC 2012
96 2012 CAR intermediate bdies may help keep the LSU meeting at a reasnable size. Grups that experience difficulty in attending the LSU meeting als have the pprtunity t use the linear ptin fr the GSU in the same way as grups in Philadelphia and Wiscnsin d. State/Natinal/Prvince Service Bdies Service bdies that cnfrm t recgnized bundaries are encuraged by the prpsals. The current six regins f Brazil culd ptentially be rerganized int fur state/natinal/prvince service bdies alng these lines: 1. Sã Paul: The state f Sã Paul (the capital f which is the city f Sã Paul) currently has tw regins, Grande Sã Paul and HOW. These have 26 ASCs and 1,200 meetings per week between them. With the use f intermediate bdies if necessary, these culd be refrmed int arund seven t eight LSUs, and a single state/natinal/prvince service bdy. The members are well knwn t each ther and are currently sharing sme services s redefining the existing regins in the state f Sã Paul culd be achievable. 2. Ri de Janeir/Espirit Sant: The Ri regin was frmed in May 2009, having been a Nucle fr abut six years, and cvers the state f Ri de Janeir. Originally Ri was part f the larger Brazil regin. The Ri regin has 15 areas and 200 grups hlding mre than 500 meetings a week acrss the state, with the greatest cncentratin lcated in urban areas. The state f Ri de Janeir culd als cntain mre than ne LSU, and culd als jin with the neighbring state f Espirit Sant t frm a single state/natinal/prvince service bdy with arund seven t eight LSUs. 3. Suthern Brazil: The current Suth Brazil Regin cnsists f the states f Paraná and Santa Catarina, and mst f the areas in Ri Grande d Sul. A cuple f Ri Grande d Sul s areas have recently split ff t becme a separate regin. [The riginal draft f the CAR mistakenly said that all f Ri Grande d Sul had split ff t becme a separate regin. Our aplgies fr the mistake.] One pssible arrangement is t cmbine these three states int a single state/natinal/prvince service bdy. Each state culd cntain multiple LSUs. 4. The remaining states in the central, nrthern, and nrth eastern parts f Brazil currently frm the Brazil Regin. Many f these states are sparsely ppulated r currently have small NA ppulatins. Sme f these states will be able t frm single LSUs that prvide services within their brders. Others culd cmbine t frm LSUs that serve multiple states in a similar way t the rural areas f Wiscnsin. All f these states culd be gruped int a single state/natinal/prvince service bdy. Intermediate bdies may help the mre gegraphically distant LSUs cnnect with the state/natinal/prvince service bdy. Service System Prpsal Reprt fr Discussin @ WSC 2012