Open and Closed Meetings
Our purpose in addressing open and closed NA meetings is to help NA members understand precisely what NA meetings can offer to both addicts and non-addicts. There are different types of NA meetings which serve different purposes.
Our message of recovery as shared in our meetings can be clouded or diluted when people such as parents, spouses, therapists, members of other fellowships, or others who are not NA members share or speak at NA meetings.
It is our belief that, by gaining clarity about open and closed NA meetings, our members can be prepared to carry the message of recovery from drug addiction to addicts, as well as sharing our message to others who are interested.
A Narcotics Anonymous meeting is a refuge for addicts. It is intended to be a safe place where an addict can hear about and participate in recovery from the disease of drug addiction. We cannot be all things to all people.
The following are guidelines regarding open and closed meetings:
A closed meeting in Narcotics Anonymous is only for those individuals who identify themselves as addicts or for those who are uncertain and think they might have a drug problem. We want desperately for the place where addicts recover to be a safe place, free from outside influences. We feel safe at our closed meetings because everyone is an addict, we feel totally free to express ourselves. We are free to share openly and honestly without anyone from outside the Fellowship observing, moralizing, or stereotyping us.
An open meeting is an NA meeting that may be attended by anyone, including non-addicts, interested in learning about Narcotics Anonymous. Verbal participation, however, is limited to addicts only. Some groups also have open meetings as a way of allowing non-addict friends and relatives of NA members to celebrate recovery anniversaries with them. Open meetings can be used as a tool for public information to help the public understand what NA is, and where to find us.
Whether children are allowed at an NA meeting or not is up to the Group Conscience of each individual Home Group. Some Home Groups feel that NA is not the best environment for children. There are often suffering addicts sharing the grim nature of the disease of addiction in an open and honest manner, sometimes with language that may not be appropriate for children. Children can also be a distraction and affect the atmosphere of recovery in our meetings, our most valuable asset. When addicts bring children to meetings, it can affect another addicts willingness to share openly and honestly. Sometimes, addicts feel the need to censor themselves in the presence of children. For these reasons, children are typically not allowed at closed meetings.