ASCYPAA 2019

Phoenix, AZ

July 2019-Dates To Be Determined

“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 Group’s 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 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 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.