East Valley Information Center

1320 E. Broadway Rd. #109

Mesa, AZ 85204

480-969-6144

office@al-anoneastvalley.org

http://al-anoneastvalley.org

June 2016 District 11, 12, and 13 Issue 15

East Valley Information Center

Newsletter

AL-ANON

East Valley Information Center

Officers and Coordinators

Chair Mary Ann N.

Vice-Chair Johnene B.

Secretary Calena O.

Treasurer Chelsea G.

Office Mgr. Nancy E.

AA Liaison Lee

Alateen (open)

Archives (open)

Events Jean G.

Fundraising Chris S.

Home Calls Michelle

Info. Distrib. Julie W.

Institutions Renee

Literature Tammi

Meeting List Cecilia

Newsletter Marty M.

EVIC Liaison Wendy

Public Outreach Christine

Website (open)

District 11 DR Ann S.

District 12 DR Carrie T.

District 13 DR Elisabeth B.

EVIC business meetings are held

on the fourth Tuesday of every

month at 7:00 p.m. All are

welcome to attend.

Al-Anon Declaration Let it begin with me.

When anyone, anywhere,

reaches out for help,

let the hand of Al-Anon and

Alateen always be there, and

-- Let It Begin with Me.

Serenity Prayer

God give me the Serenity

to accept the things I

cannot change, Courage

to change the things

I can, and Wisdom to

know the difference.

It Could Be Worse

My dad was the first alcoholic in my life. Later, my best friend be-

came a drunk driver who killed someone in a head-on collision.

Now my spouse is an alcoholic. But I know it could be worse. I

could have these people in my life without the tools available in Al-

Anon.

I could let a few bad memories of my father continue to affect me.

Instead I have learned to let go and let God. I can live “Just for To-

day” without reliving the bad times from decades ago. In Al-Anon,

I am reminded often that I have a Higher Power that I can and

should and do rely on.

I've lost contact with my old friend, but he has been replaced by

several new friends that I care about and I know they care about

me. Should he ever reach out for my help, maybe now I have

enough knowledge to be of real assistance.

The Al-Anon “Dos and Don'ts” made a big difference in my mar-

riage. Right away I started making changes in my actions. No more

pouring out alcohol, no more making excuses for her, no more try-

ing to force changes on her and wondering why nothing seemed to

help. Now I can set boundaries, detach with love, and focus on my

actions and attitudes. My changed attitudes have helped me recover

from my disease.

Alcoholism is a disease that affects the whole family. Even without

a drinking problem, the examples I learned from my father affected

how I related to my own children. With God's guidance and Al-

(Continued on page 2)

Thank you to the members below who are now

serving in service positions:

Renee — Institutions Coordinator

Christine — Public Outreach

2

June Family Recovery Night

Saturday, June 25th

St. Peter’s Lutheran Church

1844 E. Dana Ave. — Mesa

5:30 — Fellowship

7:00 — Al-Anon and AA Speakers

Babysitting available during the speakers only

Step 6:

Were entirely ready to have God remove

all these defects of character.

Concept 6:

The Conference acknowledges the primary

administrative responsibility of the Trustees.

Tradition 6:

Our Family Groups ought never endorse, finance

or lend our name to any outside enterprise, lest

problems of money, property and prestige divert

us from our primary spiritual aim. Although a

separate entity, we should always co-operate

with Alcoholics Anonymous.

Anon's people and program to help me, I now

have a much better relationship with my children.

Although I am far from perfect, the people close

to me can see improvement.

Things could be worse. I could still be making the

same mistakes that previously failed me several

times already. I could be trying to direct the lives

of the people around me. I could be dwelling on

the past or worrying about the future. Or I can

focus on making today a better day and making

myself a better person. I have the choice of living

the old way, or learning from Al-Anon. Thank

God it's Al-Anon.

— Chuy, District 13

(Continued from page 1)

Announcing...

New Monthly Speaker Meeting

Everyone is welcome to join us

and hear experience, strength,

and hope on the

4th Monday of every month

at the “Changed Attitudes”

Al-Anon Family Group meeting:

7:00 p.m.

Desert Palm United Church of Christ,

1230 E. Guadalupe Rd,, Tempe.

From the Literature Coordinator

Al-Anon Faces Alcoholism 2017 will be

available on September 1st. Orders must

be placed early. If any groups want this

ordered, please let the literature coordinator

know before June 15th. Contact:

litcoordinator@al-anoneastvalley.org

The more we order,

the lower the prices will be.

— Tammi

3

Save the Date!

Saturday, November 12, 2016

Winter Extravaganza

St. Peter’s Lutheran Church

1844 E. Dana Ave. — Mesa

Woman finds recovery from father’s

drinking and abuse

When I was just seven years old, like many little

girls, I danced with my father by stepping on his

shoes as he glided me around the room. He was

tall and straight; everyone said he looked like

Bing Crosby when he was younger. I remember

viewing the world from atop his shoulders. I felt

protected and even cherished; I was his first

daughter.

I remember my father teaching me to ride a bicy-

cle. I was left-handed and had insisted on ped-

dling backwards, falling off when it suddenly

stopped. He quietly explained to me that even

though it seemed right to me to peddle back-

wards, forward would take me where I wanted to

go.

As I grew older, alcohol took my place in my fa-

ther’s life. My dad had a tough time holding onto

a job; he spent most evenings at the corner bar.

My mother became quieter and quieter.

As time went on, my mother and father began a

large family. Within the next ten years, my mom

had five more children. We moved to the city and

my dad found work at a hospital in the supply

department. He made little money that was con-

sumed by the size of his growing family. I don’t

know how he managed to afford to keep drink-

ing, but he did.

The violence and moral decay started when I was

around ten years old. He and Mom started

fighting physically. Then he started on us chil-

dren—beatings, humiliations, servitude, and fi-

nally sexual abuse. My sisters and my mentally

retarded brother suffered the most. As the eldest

at home (my older brother had joined the Air

Force), I tried hard to protect my siblings and

myself.

I was terrified of my dad just as my mother was.

With terror came hatred and all-consuming fear. I

forgot about the man whose shoes I danced on,

whose shoulders I rode on, the gentle teacher

whom I had loved. That fear and hatred lasted

until I stumbled into Al-Anon.

I fell into mental illness. I was hospitalized and

treated for depression and posttraumatic stress

disorder. In therapy, I spoke of my feelings about

my father for the first time.

The therapist gave me a list of Al-Anon meetings

and asked me to attend one. At first I was dead-

set against going. Then as I began to feel worse, I

decided to take her advice. On my way to my first

Al-Anon meeting, I dug my nails into my legs; I

was so very frightened.

The more I went, the more I listened, but I just

could not let go of the hatred I carried for so long.

It had become a part of my everyday thoughts.

The person whom I had asked to become my

Sponsor suggested I go to an open A.A. meeting.

The thought made me ill, but I decided to go.

I met men and women struggling to recover.

Shaking their hands was the first time since I had

left home that I had allowed myself to be around

anyone who had a drinking problem. I touched

real people who were trying hard to overcome

alcoholism.

The last year of his life I was able to once again

see him as a human being.

Unfortunately, my dad never found help before

he died.

But Al-Anon has saved my sanity, helped me re-

connect with my Higher Power, and released me

from the hatred that I carried far too long. I’ve

made my peace with my Dad, even though it

came after his death.

By Diana B., Illinois

This article can be found online at the Al-Anon

website at: http://al-anon.org/woman-finds-

recovery-from-fathers-drinking-and-abuse

4

Seeking grateful Al-Anon members to volunteer in

service positions at E.V.I.C.

Alateen Coordinator Archives Coordinator Website Coordinator

Anyone interested in an open

coordinator position may email Nancy at office@al-anoneastvalley.org

OR call the EVIC office at 480-969-6144

OR attend the next EVIC Business Meeting

on Tuesday, April 26th, at 7 p.m. at the EVIC Office, 1320 E. Broadway.

Did you know . . .?

How Al-Anon Works and Courage to

Change are both available in electronic

format on Kindle and iBooks. The newest,

Courage to Change, comes in two parts that

must be purchased separately.

Al-Anon members now can have

electronic access to two great

readers wherever and whenever

we need via smartphone, PC,

or Mac!

New Beginners Al-Anon Family Group Meeting

Thursday @ 10:00 a.m. Our Savior’s Lutheran Church 612 S. Ellsworth Rd., Mesa, AZ

Use the south entrance to the church and the meeting is in the library,

first door on your left.

Short on time?

Having a hard

time getting out?

Try a phone meeting!

New Time! Monday Night New Horizons

7:00-8:00 p.m.

1320 E. Broadway, Mesa (EVIC office)

Please help us keep this long-running group alive. Old member, please come

back. New members, please join us!

Participation is the key to harmony!

5

From Nancy E.,

Manager at the E.V.I.C. Office –

Thank you to everyone who has come to the

E.V.I.C office to attend meetings, get infor-

mation, and buy literature. We are currently

staffed during the following hours:

Monday: 9:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.

Tuesday: 9:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.

Wednesday: 9:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.

Thursday: 9:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.

Friday: 9:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.

Anyone willing to volunteer to fill in any

of the openings above may contact

Nancy at 480-969-6144 or 480-832-5611

or email her at office@al-anoneastvalley.org

Call ahead to make sure we are

here if you want to come in!

We are looking for used Al-Anon books that

we can resell for half price. We have a some

gently-used books available for purchase.

We need your help!!

Volunteers needed to work at the EVIC office for either the

morning (9:30-1:00) or afternoon (1:00-4:30) shift on Friday.

Volunteers will be trained and there is an office worker’s notebook to refer to.

Your duties will include: answering the phone selling literature fielding questions distributing materials

Feeling energetic and want to do more work at the office? You can:

vacuum and clean up organize literature spruce up the place

Feeling like you’ve got a lot of your own things to do? You can:

read a book or write a letter knit or sew bring your laptop or tablet —

we’ve got wi-fi!

Call Nancy at 480-969-6144 or 480-832-5611

!

HOLA!

We welcome our new

Spanish meetings to E.V.I.C.

Lois AFG

Wednesday and Friday night

7:00-8:30 p.m.

1320 E. Broadway Rd. — Suite #109

Share your experience, strength, and hope. Sub-

mit your story to news@al-anoneastvalley.org

If you want to share but need some help, I can

assist. Let’s work together to help others!

— Marty M.

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You may request a print and/or electronic

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