Arizona State Conference of Young People in A.A.

The following two paragraphs are excerpts from ICYPAA’s Facts, Aims and Purposes:

“Alcoholism recognizes no barriers, age included. The first Young People’s Groups in Alcoholics Anonymous appeared in 1945 in Los Angeles, California and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In 1957, a meeting of young AA’s from across the U.S. and Canada started what is now the International Conference of Young People in Alcoholics Anonymous (ICYPAA). At the 1960 AA Convention, Bill W. noted that the age of new members was much lower than when he and Dr. Bob founded AA 25 years earlier. A 1975 ICYPAA pamphlet described the people in Young People’s Groups as in their twenties and thirties, with some teenagers. The trend has continued. A 1989 AA survey reported that 30% of the respondents were under 40 years of age and that 3% were under 21 years of age. The number of young people suffering from alcoholism who turn to AA for help is growing and the purpose of Young People’s Groups, just as it has been for many years, is to carry AA’s message of recovery to alcoholics no matter what their age. Young People’s Groups provide young newcomers with a meeting where they can see and share the experience of sobriety with other young people.”

“Young People’s Groups try to make the newcomer understand that 20-plus years of drinking coupled with loss of family, friends, and finances are not necessary for one to be ready for sobriety. Young People’s Groups bring the newcomer into the mainstream of AA Recovery, Service, and Unity through the 12 Steps, the 12 Traditions and the 12 Concepts for World Service carrying AA’s message to the suffering alcoholic. Young People’s Groups are in no way separate from Alcoholics Anonymous as a whole. Members of Young People’s Groups are involved in and committed to Twelfth Step Work, Hospital and Institution Work, Public Information, General Service, and every other facet of AA service. Newcomers are shown, by people their own age, that using AA principles in their daily lives and getting involved in AA service can lead to a lasting and comfortable sobriety.”

The Arizona State Conference of Young People in Alcoholics Anonymous (ASCYPAA) meets annually. This meeting provides an opportunity for young AA’s from all over to come together and share their experience, strength, and hope as young people in Alcoholics Anonymous. ASCYPAA is visible evidence that large numbers of young people are achieving a lasting and comfortable sobriety in Alcoholics Anonymous. AA’s who attend an ASCYPAA return home better prepared to receive young people who come to AA looking for a better way of life.