Western New York’s History of Heroin Anonymous

A group of people in Geneseo, N.Y. got together. The treatment facilities around the area had mainly heroin or opiate addicts. So it seemed there was a need of a fellowship for heroin addicts. A couple of them were kicking around the idea to start a meeting. One of the members in the group emailed H.A. World Services and got a new meeting pack. When the pamphlets arrived they didn’t start a meeting right away. It wasn’t until a member of their A.A. group was struggling to identify as an alcoholic. Since A.A.’s singleness of purpose has to do with alcoholism, they found a reason to start a local H.A. meeting. They reached out to a few members of A.A. who were also heroin addicts to come and attend. There were around 8 people who came to the first meeting, in Livingston County. The speaker was from Rochester, N.Y. The group continued to connect with heroin addicts from Rochester and kept the local inpatient center and probation offices informed of Heroin Anonymous in the area.

Those few people from Rochester that went to that first H.A. meeting in Livingston County, had never herd of Heroin Anonymous. The speaker and a few of the people with him ended up being blown away by how the meeting was run. The singleness of purpose was read at the beginning of the meeting, they followed the same principle and traditions of the A.A. fellowship that they were used to. Most importantly they spoke the language of the heart. With the honesty and relatability in that meeting they instantly felt comfortable.

For a while they talked about starting a meeting in Rochester but it was only an idea. It wasn’t until a member that had close ties to the group and to the recovery community passed away from an overdose. The passing of a friend hitting so close to home it gave them the inspiration and push to begin planning the first H.A. meeting in Rochester. Five of them got together to start a planning meeting, they got an H.A. new meeting kit from H.A. World Services, they made business cards and flyers with the meeting time and location. They also started a hotline so the newcomer would have a phone number to call to get in touch with the group. They started spreading the word among the recovery community.

For their first meeting it was standing room only and for that first year it continued to grow. It went on to help start other meetings all throughout Western New York along with many more meetings in Rochester. Still to this day that same hotline number is now used for the Wester New York Area of Heroin Anonymous.

WHAT IS HEROIN ANONYMOUS?

Heroin Anonymous is a non-profit fellowship of men and women who have found a solution to heroin addiction. HA is a fellowship of complete abstinence from all drugs and alcohol. We are recovered heroin addicts who meet regularly to help each other stay sober. The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop suffering from heroin addiction. There are no dues or fees for HA membership. HA is not allied with any sect, denomination, politics, organization or institution; does not wish to engage in any controversy and neither endorses nor opposes any causes. Our primary purpose is to stay sober and help other heroin addicts to achieve sobriety.

Heroin Anonymous is concerned solely with the personal recovery and continued sobriety of heroin addicts who turn to us for help. We do not provide drug counseling, medical or psychiatric treatment, chemical dependency treatment, or therapy of any form. Our members consist of individuals who have found a better way of life. We have recovered from our heroin addiction and simply wish to offer help to those who suffer. We are fully self-supporting, we accept voluntary contributions from our members for our expenses, and we respectfully decline outside contributions. Our program of recovery was adapted from the program developed by Alcoholics Anonymous in 1935. We apply the Twelve Steps as done in AA (although we are not affiliated with Alcoholics Anonymous), which involves one heroin addict helping another to achieve freedom from their heroin addiction.

In our Fellowship you will see one heroin addict helping another, freely passing on their experience to the next person who is desperately searching for an answer to their own heroin addiction

The first HA meeting was held on Thursday, August 12, 2004 at the Hope House, a half-way house for alcoholics and addicts located at 316 N. 11th Way in Phoenix, Arizona. Present were Paul F., Mike S, Nancy R., Tom M., David T., Rebekah B. and Mark T. In that first meeting, Paul F. was elected as the Literature Chairperson and he began writing pamphlets and meeting formats for our fellowship. In no time, more and more HA meetings were forming and the Phoenix HA Intergroup was established on November 11, 2004.

Ever since, HA has grown into a fellowship that spans multiple countries. Thousands of heroin addicts have found sobriety, started new meetings in new places, with new ideas and perspectives. International dialogue is taking place via correspondence, and the fellowship is finding its footing and coming to know itself. Our membership represents a fair cross-section of the population, demonstrating the fact that recovery is available to all, and that we have found a way out that works!