Rural Service Resources
Carrying the NA message in a rural or isolated community can be challenging, and represents a significant obstacle to the growth of NA in many parts of the world. This webpage offers a board-approved piece focused on principles and best practices relevant to this area of service, and locally developed resources.
Serving NA in Rural and Isolated Communities | Spanish
This piece captures experience from NA members in different parts of the world, and offers some ideas for effectively serving NA in rural and isolated communities.
Locally Developed Resources
These tools are available for local groups and service bodies to adapt and use locally.
Group-to-Group Activities
Fun With Flags guidelines - Wisconsin RSC
Outreach
Mobile Meeting guidelines - Eastern Area Oklahoma
Nomadic Addicts info packet - Heart of Tennessee Area
Nomadic Addicts introduction letter - Heart of Tennessee Area
Nomadic Addicts progress report - January 2019
12thStep Call volunteer form - UK RSC
Outreach Subcommittee guidelines - Australia RSC
Loner workgroup information – Egypt Region
Online Meetings
Skype meeting guidelines - Highlands and Islands UK
Updated online meeting guidelines - Highlands and Islands UK
Distance Sponsorship
Guidelines for postal sponsors - UK
Questionnaire for postal sponsors - UK
Workshop Resources
Rural Recovery Workshop session outline, script, and worksheet - Wisconsin
Rural Recovery Workshop responses - Montana
Basic Workshops
These workshop materials have been developed by NA World Services in partnership with developing regions around the world. They address many of the “basics” of NA groups and have proven helpful in creating a stable foundation for growth. The main locally developed resources page contains a range of other workshop materials that may be of interest.
What is an NA Group - session outline, handout, and PowerPoint
Group Trusted Servants - Roles and Responsibilities - session outline and PowerPoint
Atmosphere of Recovery - session outline and PowerPoint
Building Strong Homegroups - session outline, handout, and PowerPoint
Tradition Seven - session outline, handout, and PowerPoint
Sponsorship - session outline, handout, and PowerPoint
Other Resources
www.na.org/localresources - general service resources in addition to those posted above, including many that have been locally developed
www.na.org/ips - for recovery literature in a range of languages, including The Group Booklet, informational pamphlets, and other NA literature
www.na.org/servicemat - for links to a wide range of NA service material, including service pamphlets that offer guidance to groups on commonly encountered challenges
www.na.org/handbooks - service handbooks, including a section on “Area Committees in Rural Communities” on page 65 of A Guide to Local Services in NA
www.na.org/meetingsearch - for meeting information (including phone- and web-based meetings) and local websites and helplines
www.na.org/servicesystem - for drafts of group support forum guidelines and local planning tools
Personal Stories
This article from the April 2010 NA Way Magazine is one of many stories of the birth of an NA community and is offered here in the hope it will inspire and encourage you. Some of the personal stories in the “Our Members Share” section of the Basic Text also tell of NA’s beginnings in different parts of the world, while others talk about the challenges members have experienced when identifying themselves as an addict in their community.
Web Meetings
The quarterly web meetings hosted by NA World Services between 2016 and 2019 have now been discontinued. The increased availability of virtual recovery and service meetings in 2020, as a result of the pandemic, made the quarterly web meetings less useful, and the reduction in staff resources at NAWS has led us to refocus our efforts elsewhere. We continue to offer other quarterly web meetings on a variety of topics that are open to the entire Fellowship. Details about these can be found here www.na.org/webinar.
Recordings and resources from previous web meetings can be found here