What is Service Work?

The 12 Step movement explicitly places “our common welfare” at the forefront of its vision. It asserts that individual welfare depends on the support of a community of recovering people.

The 12th Step in the recovery process specifically states that as a result of “working” the 12 Steps, practitioners should commit to sharing the recovery message with others who can benefit. Thus, “service work” is a key feature of recovery. Service Work is usually practiced at 12 Step meetings, for example, by facilitating the meeting, making coffee, arranging chairs in the meeting room, sponsoring a new member of a group and other related volunteer activities.

Service Work also has another benefit — it helps newcomers break the isolation that so often results from the damage that addiction can inflict on to relationships.

Keep reading about the 12 Traditions of the 12 Step process in this illustrated article from Alcoholics Anonymous (PDF) >>

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