The Hampshire NA History
An Overall History of NA
Narcotics Anonymous sprang from the Alcoholics Anonymous Programme of the late 1940s, and was co-founded by Jimmy Kinnon. Meetings first emerged in the Los Angeles area of California, USA, in the early fifties. The NA programme, officially founded in 1953, started as a small US movement that has grown into one of the world's oldest and largest organisations of its type.
The NA White Booklet was written in 1962 and became the heart of NA meetings and the basis for all subsequent NA literature NA was called a "hip pocket programme", because the entire literature could fit into a person's hip pocket.
The 1970s was a period of rapid growth in NA's history. In 1970, there were only 20 regular, weekly meetings, all of them in the United States. Within two years there were 70 meetings worldwide including Germany, Australia and Bermuda. By 1976, there were 200 regular meetings, including 83 in California alone, and others in Brazil, Canada, Colombia, India, the Republic of Ireland, Japan, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.
- In 1978, there were fewer than 200 registered groups in three countries.
- In 1983, more than a dozen countries had 2,966 meetings.
- In 1993, 60 countries had over 13,000 groups holding over 19,000 meetings.
- In 2002, 108 countries had 20,000 groups holding over 30,000 meetings.
- In 2005, 116 countries had over 21,500 groups holding over 33,500 weekly meetings.
- In 2007, there are over 25,065 groups holding over 43,900 weekly meetings in 127 countries.
A Brief History of NA In The UK
The first NA meeting in the United Kingdom took place in London in 1980. There are currently more than 500 weekly meetings throughout England, Scotland and Wales of which more than 100 take place in London and 23 in Hampshire. More than 30 meetings are held each week in prisons and a further 30-40 in treatment and detoxification centres. In 1982, when Narcotics Anonymous published it's self-titled Basic Text, the growth of the fellowship was phenomenal.
The History of NA In Hampshire
A Group Service Representative was elected in August 1995 and Portsmouth became a part of the Wessex area which is now Dorset.
At this time with support from Wessex members the second meeting was opened on a Friday evening at the Southsea Community Centre, this is and continues to be a strong and attractive meeting.
In 1995 we were also approached by a local detox to provide NA representation, Wessex supported this commitment fully and overtime the request was for fortnightly visits. Eventually Hampshire numbers and experience were strong enough to support this commitment and accommodate requests from other institutions across the area
The first Hampshire area meeting took place in Portsmouth in 1985, it had begun very loosely, in Leigh Park but quickly transferred to All Saints Church in Portsmouth before taking up residency at St Johns RC Cathedral, Portsmouth.
The Portsmouth fellowship had very few members and was not part of an area.
However a few members attended several conventions and started to meet recovering addicts from other areas and learnt about the NA structure; The Group, Sub Committees, Area Service Committees etc…
Around September 2001 Portsmouth, Southampton and Winchester formed the Hampshire area as a practical solution to the size of the ASCs but also in response to a spiritual group conscience as the way ahead.
In May 2002 the first Hampshire area convention was held to celebrate the growth of the fellowship that cemented members in the newly formed Hampshire area.
Today the Hampshire area continues to grow and fulfil our primary purpose.
Enthusiasm, willingness and commitment have reinforced one of NA’s most favoured themes It works if you work it. We have and continue to do so, Keep coming back the sky's the limit.
- You can find a detailed account of one members experience with the Southampton by clicking here