Corrections Correspondence Service
The name and location of an alcoholic inmate is mailed to the outside A.A. member who then writes a letter to make the initial contact, and to begin the relationship. In this way, the alcoholic on the outside can choose the method he or she would prefer the inmate to use when responding. A few methods have used with no reported problems: inmates are asked to respond to 1) a personal P.O. Box; 2) with permission, a group, district, or area P.O. Box; 3) with permission a Central/Intergroup office P.O. Box; or 4) the A.A. member’s home address. (Important: Generally, correctional institutions require that a person use his or her full name when corresponding with an inmate. Outside A.A.s should not use first names only or last initials.)
An outside A.A. wishing to volunteer to participate in the Corrections Correspondence Service should send his or her gender, full name, and address to the Corrections Desk at G.S.O., Grand Central Station, P.O. Box 459, NY, NY 10163 or email them to corrections@aa.org G.S.O. will link the A.A. member with an inmate serving time in a prison or jail located ideally at least 2 regions away (e.g., an A.A. living in the NE region would be linked with an inmate from the SW, Pacific, or Western Canada regions). When matches with allow for a 2 region separation can not be achieved, outsiders are matched with inmates residing at least 2 states away.
Your name was given to me by the General Service Office of Alcoholics Anonymous I New York. They informed me that you are interested in communicating with someone in our Fellowship who is willing to write on some regular basis. I’m willing.
My name is John Doe (your full name). I’ll list my mailing address at the end of this letter. My last drink was on 06-24-60, the day I was released from the Macomb County Jail and the day I attended my first A.A. meeting.
I am a recovering alcoholic who is interested primarily in maintaining my own sobriety. I find that I continue to progress in my sobriety in a direct proportion to my willingness to give away what I have received from this remarkable Fellowship. If we are willing to share our experiences, strengths, and hopes with one another, we will both benefit.
Let me say, at the outset of our getting to know one another, I will be the only one reading your letters to me. Feel free to say anything that you wish: experiences, hopes, fears, likes, dislikes, etc. If there is anything that I write in a letter to you that offends, or disturbs you in any way, feel free to tell me so immediately. Feel free to ask any questions, no matter how stupid they may sound. Finally, if there comes a time when either of us wishes to stop writing, he should inform the other person.
I’m grateful for the opportunity to gain a new friend and especially a fellow alcoholic who is willing to travel along with me on the road to recovery. I suppose the best way to get to know one another is to do what we do at the tables. We tell our stories.
My name is John, I’m an alcoholic…