Alateen

Alateen is a fellowship of young Al-Anon members, usually teenagers, whose lives have been affected by someone else's drinking.

Purposes of Alateen:

Young people come together to...

• share experience, strength and hope with each other
• discuss their difficulties
• learn effective ways to cope with their problems
• encourage each other
• help one another understand the principles of the Alateen program 

Sponsorship:

Every Alateen group needs two active, adult members of Al-Anon (certified by their local Area) to serve as sponsors.

The sponsors are an active part of the group, guiding and sharing knowledge of the Twelve Steps and Traditions.

Paper presented at the 2018 International Al-Anon General Services Meeting: Supporting the Alateen Culture

Alateen members learn:

• compulsive drinking is a disease

• they can detach themselves emotionally from the drinker's problems while continuing to love the person

• they are not the cause of anyone else's drinking or behaviour

• they cannot change or control anyone but themselves

• they have spiritual and intellectual resources with which to develop their own potential, no matter what happens at home

• they can build satisfying and rewarding life experiences for themselves

Meetings:

Face-to face Alateen meeting in metro Melbourne: Mondays at 7.30pm | Venue: 59 Burke Road East Malvern VIC 3145

Alateen Meetings Conducted on Zoom (online)

Registration (email contact address), and meeting times:

Alateen members can access 5, World Service Office-approved, meetings online:

The meetings are accessed by downloading an Alateen app.

Available meetings are listed as ET Eastern Time (New York, USA). These times have been transposed to AEST (Australian Eastern Standard Time), but allowances need to be made for Australian time zones and daylight saving adjustments.

The following link will take you to the WSO website, Alateen screen, where you will find more information: https://al-anon.org/newcomers/teen-corner-alateen/alateen-electronic-meeting/

Media Article:

A recent media article highlights an Alateen member's experience: "Living with an alcoholic parent can be as damaging for children as it is for the person drinking", CitiNews (Canberra).

Alateen literature:

Members are encouraged to read Alateen Conference-Approved Literature and materials. Written from members' personal sharings, these recovery tools can help young people deal with their problems. You can browse Al-Anon and Alateen literature online (identified in red).   

Alateen Link-Up:

New! The Alateen newsletter Alateen Link-Up, April 2022 is now available - which AGSO aims to publish four times each year, distributing it with Al-Anon's national magazine Austra-Link and also online.

Alateen Online: 

The international Al-Anon office has produced podcasts, videos and other interesting information for teenagers that can be safely accessed online.  It is called Teen Corner - A place just for teens affected by someone else’s alcoholism: https://al-anon.org/newcomers/teen-corner-alateen/.

The Future of Alateen, Workshop:

The Future of Alateen Workshop report back from the AA Convention in Toowoomba 2020. This Workshop was attended by Sponsors and Alateens.