Our meetings are open to everyone, We welcome all individuals looking for help and community.

There is no cost to attend our meetings. We are supported by our own voluntary contributions to that maintain the Dry Dock and and supports Alcoholics Anonymous as a whole, as we are a non-profit organization relying on community support.

At the Dry Dock, we host Alcoholics Anonymous (A.A.) and Narcotics Anonymous (N.A.) meetings, providing a safe space for individuals facing alcohol-related and/or drug addiction challenges. These meetings focus on shared experiences, strength, and hope, with each other that we may recover.

You can reach us by calling (513) 922-1070 or visiting the Dry Dock for more information about meetings and support services.

The purpose of all A.A. group meetings, as the Preamble states, is for A.A. members to “share their experience, strength and hope with each other that they may solve their common problem and help others to recover from alcoholism.” Toward this end, A.A. groups have both open and closed meetings.

Closed meetings are intended for A.A. members, i.e. those who have a desire to stop drinking. Open meetings are available to anyone interested in the Alcoholics Anonymous program of recovery from alcoholism. Non-alcoholics may attend open meetings as observers.

At both types of meetings, the A.A. chairperson may request that participants confine their discussion to matters pertaining to recovery from alcoholism. Whether open or closed, all A.A. group meetings are conducted by A.A. members who determine the format of their own meetings.

There are almost 700 meetings in  more than 200 locations the Greater Cincinnati Area. About 65% are open and 35% are closed.

In addition to “open” and “closed”, there are many different types of meetings in A.A.

In a lead/speaker meeting, one person tells their personal story. In a general way, they describe what they were like while drinking, how they found A.A., and how they are now after apply A.A. principles in their life.

In a discussion meeting, someone brings up a topic (such as “what is a sponsor and how to I find one?”, “how do I have relationships in sobriety?”, “how do I work a step?”, or anything related to alcoholism). Then those attending share their experience, strength, and hope on how they solved the problem through the principles of A.A.

In a literature meeting, a selection from an A.A. publication, such as the Big Book, 12&12, or one of many others, is read and then discussed by those attending.

There many other types of meetings such as newcomers, young people, or LGBTQ. Each group is autonomous, and free to format their meetings as they see fit.

Most A.A. members meet in A.A. groups as defined by the long form of our Third Tradition: “Our membership ought to include all who suffer from alcoholism. Hence we may refuse none who wish to recover. Nor ought A.A. membership ever depend upon money or conformity. Any two or three alcoholics gathered together for sobriety may call themselves an A.A. group, provided that, as a group,
they have no other affiliation.”

However, some A.A. members hold A.A. meetings that differ from the common understanding of a group. These members simply gather at a set time and place for a meeting, perhaps for convenience or other special situations. The main difference between meetings and groups is that A.A. groups generally continue to exist outside the prescribed meeting hours, ready to provide Twelfth Step help when needed.

A.A. groups are encouraged to get listed with G.S.O., as well as with their local offices: Area, District, and Intergroup or Central Service Office. A.A. meetings can be listed in local meeting lists along with A.A. groups.

“The only requirement for A.A. membership is a desire to stop drinking” (Tradition Three). Thus, group membership requires no formal application. Just as we are members of A.A. if we say we are, so are we members of a group if we say we are.

©Reprinted from the Group pamphlet with permission of Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc. Copyright © 2018 by Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.

“What does A.A. mean by sponsorship? To join some organizations, you must have a sponsor — a person who vouches for you, presents you as being suitable for membership. This is definitely not the case with A.A. Anyone who has a desire to stop drinking is welcome to join us!

In A.A., sponsor and sponsored meet as equals, just as Bill and Dr. Bob did. Essentially, the process of sponsorship is this: An alcoholic who has made some progress in the recovery program shares that experience on a continuous, individual basis with another alcoholic who is attempting to attain or maintain sobriety through A.A.

When we first begin to attend A.A. meetings, we may feel confused and sick and apprehensive. Although people at meetings respond to our questions willingly, that alone isn’t enough. Many other questions occur to us between meetings; we find that we need constant, close support as we begin learning how to “live sober.”

So we select an A.A. member with whom we can feel comfortable, someone with whom we can talk freely and confidentially, and we ask that person to be our sponsor.”

©Reprinted from the pamphlet Questions & Answers on Sponsorship with permission of Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc. Copyright © 2017 by Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.

A.A. is not allied with any sect, denomination, politics, organization or institution; does not wish to engage in any controversy, neither endorses nor opposes any causes. Our primary purpose is to stay sober and help other alcoholics to achieve sobriety.