Accessibilities Committee


The District 6 Accessibilities Committee works to improve and maintain accessibility to AA meetings and literature for persons with special needs. Committee members and other AA volunteers carry the AA message of recovery to the deaf, hearing impaired, visually impaired, the homebound and learning disabled alcoholics in our District.

-from of the District 6 Bylaws.

Special Needs Tri-fold Pamphlet

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While Alcoholics Anonymous is exempt from the Americans with Disabilities Act, it is our intention to make the message of Alcoholics Anonymous available to everyone who wants it.



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ASL and audio image

The Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous and Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions are now available as videos with ASL🤟 or audio files🎧 alongside the traditional pdf format at aa.org.




The General Service Office (G.S.O.) of Alcoholics Anonymous provides the following accessibilities resources:


Accessibilities Checklist for Meetings and Groups
- a series of questions that may help your group determine the overall accessibility of your meeting space

Accessibilities Workbook
- designed to help Accessibilities Committees explore, develop and offer resources to make the Alcoholics Anonymous message and participation in our program of recovery available to all alcoholics who reach out for it


Contact the District 6 Accessibilities Committee, please email: Accessibilities@District6AA.org.




ACCESSIBILITIES COMMITTEE SCOPE AND PROCEDURE


Volunteers carry the message of Alcoholics Anonymous to members who have special needs such as visual impairment, deaf or hard of hearing, chronically ill or home bund, and those who are developmentally disabled


SCOPE:


The committee constantly works to improve and maintain accessibility to AA for persons with accessibility issues.


PROCEDURE:


The Committee communicates with other Districts to share contact experiences


The Committee stays up to date on information about newly developed and current GSO literature in various Accessible formats including Braille and printed publications, recorded electronic audio and visual formats such as CDs, DVDs, online versions of Accessibility available through the GSO websites and such other materials as they are developed.


The Accessibilities Committee reviews with the Literature committee Conference approved pamphlets, books and audiovisual material related to Accessibility challenges and solutions currently available for sale through local Intergroup and Central offices and for display and sales at group and District functions upon request.


The Accessibilities Committee has its own District 6 pamphlet (designed by a former committee chairperson) which at this writing has not been located. It was designed in 2013. When found it will need to be reviewed with the Literature Committee per Literature Legacy of Service


The Accessibilities Committee works with the District 6 Website Committee to offer access to online-accessible AA materials and links to Accessibility-enabled AA meetings.


The Accessibilities Committee brings display materials to all District 6 self-support events. The Chairperson organizes and runs a monthly Committee Meeting.


To contact the District 6 Accessibilities Committee please email Accessabilities@district6aa.org or contact the individual chairperson whose information is on the current District 6 agenda.




GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR COMMITTEE CHAIRPERSONS AND ALTERNATE CHAIRPERSONS


This page is all of the general guidelines that the committee chairpersons have in common. This page will be in the legacy of service once only and the succeeding pages will be the selective scope/procedures for each chairperson position.


QUALIFICATIONS


The qualifications for chairperson for these committees, per resolution (# 517 02/2014). Individuals must have a minimum of two years of continuous sobriety and one year as a past or present General Service Representative GSR) in any of our ninety three (93) areas within the United States and Canada. An alternate chairperson be appointed as a member of all the District 6 standing committees. The chairperson of these committees will appoint this person pe resolution (# 603 07/2019). The alternate chairperson must meet the same requirements set by resolution as standing district committee chairpersons and be defrayed at the rate set by resolution for attending area quarterly assemblies in the absence of the committee chairperson unless otherwise defrayed. The term of the DCM is two years and generally coincides with the South Florida Area election of officers. Elections are held in even years at the November District Meeting with service to begin the following January.


There will be no waived requirements/qualifications for any of the district officers, committee chairpersons, DCMs and ACMs


COMPOSITION


All of the district standing committees are composed of a chairperson that has been elected by the District 6 body per requirement resolutions. The Current Practice Committee Chairperson position, by resolution, is automatically filled by the immediate past District 6 chairperson when willing and able to serve. If this individual is not available to serve then the Current Practice Chairperson is selected as above. The Finance Committee chairperson is appointed by the current District 6 chairperson. The Finance Committee Chairperson appoints two members from the General Service body with financial backgrounds. An alternate chairperson is appointed by the chairperson also as per requirement resolutions, Other members of the committee are DCM's, ACM's, GSR's and AGSRs. Also, anyone from any of our groups, may be a member of these committees and they do not have to be participating in general service with District 6. The Finance Committee does not utilize volunteers


SCOPE AND PROCEDURE


These two items will be the responsibility of the current serving chairperson for evaluating the committee's business and functioning for the two year panel of service. This reflects the overall duties and activities of each service entity in District 6, Area 15. All of the currently serving District 6 Officers, Committee Chairpersons and the overall DCM Coordinator (alternate district 6 chairperson)


The following items pertain in general to all the above mentioned people


The committee holds a scheduled meeting, when necessary for members. Most communication and work distribution is done via computer

The Chairperson, or Alternate Chairperson in their stead, attends all District 6 business meetings and presents an oral report of no more than 4 minutes, providing a written copy to the Recording Secretary for inclusion in the district 6 business meeting minutes

The Chairperson, or Alternate Chairperson in their stead, attends the quarterly Area 15 committee meeting and the Area Assembly.

Receives defrayed funding, from the district treasurer, for the cost of attending the Area 15 quarterly weekends. This is usually one nights lodging at the agreed quarterly room rate. Or may receive defrayment to and from the quarterly, if they have not stayed overnight as above, at the current IRS reimbursement on mileage

Expenses incurred performing duties of this office must be submitted to the Treasurer, including items, which, you, individually, are absorbing as a contribution. These must be itemized to enable annual budgeting for the district as a whole.

All voting members of district 6, plus the chairperson (a non voter, who casts a vote only in the event to break a tie) have a right to put forth a motion to the body

All district 6 trusted servants refrain from standing on election day for the same position unless they are fulfilling an unexpired term. However after the election day is over they may stand for the same position if they so desire at any time when requests are done to fill empty positions

All District 6 officers, and committee chairpersons will provide, at the October business meeting during their report time, a description of what their position is and what has been done in the past two years This will give anybody a general idea of what each position entails in a general preview of the job description so as to let those interested make an informed decision about standing for the positions

Reviews the scope/procedure of the position listed in the Legacy of Service document and provides a notation of no changes or makes changes and submits the information to the Current Practice Committee Chairperson at the October business meeting at the two (2) year rotation time. In addition, changes needed to be added to the scope/procedure due to motions passed or committee decisions may be submitted, at any time, to the Current Practice Committee Chairperson. The Current Practice Committee Chairperson will be responsible for submitting the changes to the Legacy of Service document and to the Website Committee Chairperson for inclusion in the District 6 Website. These changes will be designed to guide the next chairperson selected for the position.


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