Young Addicts in Recovery
Young Addicts in Recovery is an EDM Fellowship Development workgroup that started in 2016. This is a passion project of many EDM servants regardless of age. We started to notice amazing recovery activities organized by young people all over the world, and their message touched us very deeply:
“It’s never too early to start recovering in the program of Narcotics Anonymous”.
Our focus is on informing, and connecting young addicts all over the globe, helping to gather and exchange their experience – what helped them stay in the rooms of NA and helped focus on our similarities and not differences, what specific challenges they had to overcome and what motivates members to get involved in service.
We were trying to find what makes the process of identification easier – tools like Young Addicts Meetings, Youth Conventions, After meetings, and Fellowshipping Activities. And our ultimate goal is to carry the message to any addict who suffers, regardless of her/his race, sex, AGE, creed, religion or lack of it.
Even though our workgroup always talks about “Young at Heart” the e-book project was made to focus more on younger NA members. We were looking primarily for stories from members that got clean under 26 years of age. The reason is that younger and younger addicts are coming in the rooms all around the world and staying clean.
Young Addicts Stories
These are stories about how we stopped using early in life and stayed clean in the rooms of NA.
Young addicts around the world have gotten clean with the help of the Narcotics Anonymous program. This booklet contains stories from men and women who identified themselves as young addicts in recovery and who got clean early in their adult lives. Although their stories are different, they have one thing in common: They convey the hope of recovery for young people who think they have a drug problem and cannot stop using on their own.
The message we want to communicate is that any addict, even a young addict, can stop using drugs, lose the desire to use, and find a new way to live. Also, one addict can best understand and help another addict to recover from addiction. The Basic Text of NA mentions three indispensable principles: honesty, open-mindedness, and willingness. Many members who share their stories in this book agree that without these spiritual principles and others, such as goodwill, compassion, and empathy, they would not have succeeded in their recovery.
However, many did fail or relapse, but they kept on coming back to NA because they never lost hope. In desperation, they found each other and a power greater than themselves and began walking the path to recovery, guided by the Twelve Steps of NA. If you have a desire to stop using and are willing to make the effort needed to recover, we believe that our program will work for you, just as it did for us.
Young Addicts in Recovery Stories
(PDF, 8700 kB)
How to Start a Young People’s NA Meeting
(PDF, 2700 kB)
Young Addicts Workshop
(PDF, 567 kB)
3rd Youth Convention in the Netherlands
I was asked to attend the 3rd youth convention in Holland. The fellowship in Iceland is small so I didn’t know what to expect. 23 years old and my first time in a different fellowship than my own. It was a little scary but I was very excited too! I spent a lot of time with the committee members who were very welcoming and amazing. We talked a lot about young addicts and what we can do, I have a lot of great new ideas that I can’t wait to try. They worked so hard for this convention. You could feel the love, unity, and compassion they had.
I was told that they were planning for about 100 members showing up but then around 300 members attended the convention. They’re where members from Swiss, Israel, and Bangkok just to name a few. The next one will definitely be bigger and I plan to go to that one. The average age was around 30 to 35. There was a member with 28 years clean and one of the most wonderful things was that there were two people with three days clean! I cannot describe the convention in just a couple of words. It was amazing. There was a big program and even bigger activities going on. Cleantime Countdown, DJ dancing party, Bonfire, marshmallows, and swimming in the lake at night. They asked a member from Berlin to attend and do the countdown.
It was fabulous; I have never experienced such an amazing countdown with so much love. I made so many new friends and memories that I will keep in my heart forever. I am very grateful for this journey. Thank you, Holland, my two amazing friends who helped me so much, to the great committee members and their service, and my new friends.
Lots of Love
Helena from Iceland
