Category: Group Service

Welcome to the service community of Cocaine Anonymous! Many of our members have found fulfillment and serenity by allowing their Higher Power to work through them in service to our Fellowship.

Most of our trusted servants began their journey at the Group level by doing things like greeting members at the door, making coffee, setting up chairs, or cleaning up after the meeting. Through these commitments, we began to see the value of service and how our actions can benefit others. We also experienced a new source of humility, joy, and unity, often making lifelong friends in the process. Over time, we demonstrated our trustworthiness and increasingly selfless commitment to our fellows and our Home Group. We then became ready for a new level of trusted service to the Fellowship.

One of the most important service positions to which a member can be elected is the Group Service Representative, or GSR. The majority of our future trusted servants at the District, Area, and even World Service levels will have served as GSRs. Groups should take great care with GSR selection, as the quality of the District/Area service bodies and ultimately World Services can only be as good as the choices the individual Groups make.

The main purpose of the GSR is to provide two-way communication between the Group and the District or Area, depending upon the local service structure. The GSR should also be trusted with the Group’s vote. Although a GSR does not require Group approval to vote on matters affecting the Group or C.A. as a whole, it is the responsibility of the GSR to vote being mindful of the group conscience (see Concept Three, the traditional “Right of Decision”).*

There are some important considerations prior to accepting a nomination to the GSR position or any other service commitment. It is suggested to first consult with one’s sponsor, seeking an objective and honest appraisal of one’s readiness and qualifications. A nominee should have a working knowledge of the Twelve Steps and the Twelve Traditions. It is also suggested to become familiar with the C.A. World Service Manual,* particularly the Twelve Concepts of World Service and Robert’s Rules of Order as well as any local service guidelines. A nominee should also be fully aware of and consider the level of commitment and sacrifice of time involved.

GSR responsibilities typically include the following:

• Active membership in the Home Group.
• Attending Home Group business meetings. In Groups without a separate business meeting chair, the GSR usually chairs the business meeting.
• Attending their District/Area meetings and Assemblies, paying close attention to topics of specific interest that are vital to facilitating unity between the Group and the rest of the Fellowship. These topics include but are not limited to:
  • Fundraisers and events;
  • Service position vacancies and nominations;
  • Tabled or passed motions; and
  • Any subject on which Group input is sought.

To convey this information effectively, it is suggested that the GSR take notes at all business meetings, obtain minutes of previous District/Area meetings, and bring any available flyers back to the Group for distribution.

• Keeping the Group informed about World Service Delegate activities.
• Making announcements during regular meetings of the Home Group and during business meetings about things happening in the District or Area.
• Seeking input from the Home Group conscience regarding elections or any other matters upon which the GSR anticipates casting a vote at District and/or Area meetings.
• Bringing any concerns, ideas, feedback, etc., that the Home Group may have to District and/or Area meetings.
• Keeping the Alternate GSR informed in case he or she needs to fill in for the GSR.
• Seeing that the Traditions are followed in the Home Group and encouraging regular group inventories.

For many of us, serving as GSR was a vital step to delving deeper into our Fellowship and our personal recovery. Every represented voice of the Group informs the collective conscience of C.A. In keeping with the Eleventh Tradition, the GSR fulfills his or her service position with enthusiasm and radiates that spirit within the Group, serving by example!

From the World Service Manual 2025 pp. 20-21

“For our group purpose there is but one ultimate authority — a loving God as He may express Himself in our group conscience. Our leaders are but trusted servants; they do not govern.” OUR SECOND TRADITION

C.A. groups may create such service positions, as they deem necessary to carry on the group functions with such job duties and sobriety requirements, as they feel appropriate. Such positions by way of illustration might include: Chairperson, Vice Chairperson, Literature, Coffeemaker/Hospitality, Greeter, etc. The suggested business positions of groups are:

GROUP SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE (GSR)

Suggested sobriety time: One year Term: One year

The GSR position is a very important service position for which a member can be elected. Great care should be taken with this choice; the quality of the District/Area Services and ultimately World Services can only be as good as those choices the individual Groups make. As with the Secretaries, GSR candidates should only accept positions for those Groups that they regularly attend. Regular attendance is to be defined by the groups. They are the ones who will carry the information back to the Group as to what is going on in our Fellowship on a District/ Area level as well as the World level.

It should be understood that a GSR does not require Group approval to vote on matters affecting the Group or C.A. as a whole, although it is the GSR responsibility to vote mindful of the group conscience. (See Concept 3). A good GSR is familiar with the C.A. World Service Manual and the Twelve Concepts of World Services. If the GSR cannot attend, an Alternate should attend. The person elected GSR should be trusted with the Group vote. Before accepting a nomination for GSR, the nominee must consider the level of commitment as well as the sacrifice of time involved.

Duties and Responsibilities:

1. Sees that the Traditions are followed within the Group.
2. Attends all appropriate business meetings.
3. Conducts communication between the Group, District and Area.
4. Reads/reviews communications from the District, Area and World Service.

ALTERNATE GSR

The purpose and responsibility of the Alternate GSR is to assist the GSR and to assume the responsibilities of the GSR when necessary.
Suggested requirements and qualifications are the same as those for GSR.

STARTING A C.A. MEETING

Check your local C.A. Meeting list to see where a new meeting might be needed.

Before starting a meeting look around Cocaine Anonymous in your District or Area, are there already meetings? Find out what days they are on and at what times. Find out how well they are attended and what their formats are. Can your District or Area support a new meeting with the membership that exists? Once you have decided that your District or Area can use a new meeting, either at a new day or time, or in a different format, the following will guide you to start a new meeting;

The first step is to find another C.A. member that wants to start a meeting with you! Talk to people you know in C.A. and find out who is interested. Talk to both the “old timers” as they have valuable experience in what works and what doesn’t and talk to the “newcomers” that like you, have that passion for recovery early on. Some of the best meetings are started by newcomers who want more recovery and are supported by the “old timers” with experience!

Decide where and when a new meeting would serve best.

Look for a meeting location. Start with the locations that are already hosting a C.A. meeting, perhaps they have a meeting there another night and will have space on the night you want to start your meeting. It is often easier when there is a pre-existing relationship with the building. If there is no space there, or it is the first meeting in your area, check with local churches, as many of our meetings occur in these facilities and they readily support the work we do. Another good place to start looking for a space are the local Community Organizations, which often rent by the hour to small groups. Look up the churches or Community Organizations and start calling them. Be open about who what Cocaine Anonymous is and how we help addicts that are suffering. Bring some of our literature (pamphlets) with you. Explain how the program works. The average rent for a one hour meeting space is between $15 and $25. Always remember that your new C.A. meeting MUST be fully supporting through the 7^th tradition and the rent will have to be paid by what is collected in the basket each meeting. It may be necessary for the members starting that very first meeting to pay in advance for the first nights rent and the initial purchase of coffee and supplies, and be reimbursed by the group after. This is usually a very nominal expense, however, especially split between a few members involved.

Once you have a few C.A. members wanting to start a meeting and have found a suitable location, decide on a start date and book the book the meeting space. It is best to pick a start week at least a couple of weeks away so that there is time to spread the word throughout Cocaine Anonymous as well as, detox’s and treatment centers (talk to your H&I Committee FIRST!) about the new meeting, that way people will know to come that night.

Decide on a meeting format.

Now that the logistics have all been sorted out, the fun begins! Decide on a format for the meeting. Will it be a step meeting, a traditions meeting, a meeting that talks about the principles, sponsorship, or any other aspect of recovery. The C.A. members starting the meeting get to decide. Each group is autonomous, which means the members can decide on ANY format, provided they don’t negatively impact other groups or Cocaine Anonymous as a whole. The Cocaine Anonymous World Service Manual, that can be found on our world website (www.ca.org) website, outlines the basic requirements a group must meet to be called a C.A. meeting, such as not altering the 12 steps or 12 traditions, and being fully self-supporting. As long as these basic guidelines are being met, the format is up to you! Some ideas are;

1. Step meeting – Discuss a different step each meeting
2. Traditions meeting – Discuss a different Tradition each meeting
3. Topic meeting – Members pull a recovery topic from a hat and talk about it
4. Hot Seat meeting – A newcomer gets 10 – 15 minutes to share his struggles and then the rest of the members share on how the program can solve them
5. Sponsorship meeting – The topic is always some aspect of sponsorship
6. Speaker meeting – The meeting is a member sharing their “story”

The list is endless; just try to stay away from taking topics from the floor as these tend to not be recovery focused meetings.

Decide on the readings. What C.A. or Big Book readings will you do at the beginning and end of the meeting? The Cocaine Anonymous readings can be found on the world website, just print them off!

Set the group’s first business meeting, to elect people into service positions and create your group conscience. Contact your World Service Delegates as their role is to support you in starting a meeting and they will guide you through your first business meeting and any other step of the process to start a meeting!

Getting literature…

Cocaine Anonymous will help you to get the literature you need to start a meeting. Here is how;

Contact your local District or Area in the city you live in and talk with them about the new meeting. They will bring it to the district meeting, or ask you to come and speak to the district about providing it.

If your district can not provide the literature, they will either put you in contact with the Area body, that may be able to provide the literature.

If the Area for some reason doesn’t exist or is unable to help, your Delegates, will put you in touch with your Cocaine Anonymous World Services and they will send you a meeting starter kit FOR FREE.

Cocaine Anonymous relies on members with the drive and courage to start meetings for the fellowship to remain healthy and grow. Cocaine Anonymous will support you in starting a meeting and will help ensure you have what is needed for the meeting to run!

From the World Service Manual 2022 pp. 15-19

A meeting is when two or more people gather together to share their experience, strength and hope with each other.

A meeting may call itself a C.A. Group when:

1. The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop using cocaine and all other mind-altering substances.
2. It is fully self-supporting.
3. Its primary purpose is to help addicts recover through the Twelve Steps of C.A.
4. It has no outside affiliations.
5. It has no opinion on outside issues.
6. Its public relations policy is based on attraction rather than promotion.

THE C.A. GROUP

The basic unit in C.A. is the local Group, which is autonomous except in matters affecting other Groups or C.A. as a whole. The Group has but one primary purpose, which is to help others to recover through the suggested Twelve Steps. Each Group is self-supporting through its own contributions. As the Twelve Steps are our guide to recovery, the Twelve Traditions are our guide to Group unity, growth and discipline. Its members maintain their personal anonymity at the level of press, radio, television and films.

The importance of the Group, what it constitutes and its functions cannot be stressed enough. Maintenance of our recovery depends on the sharing of our experience, strength and hope with each other, thus helping us to identify and understand the nature of our disease.

Most addicts in C.A. achieve and sustain their recovery as a result of their participation in the activities of the Group. The Group is the heart of Cocaine Anonymous and it is vital to the new member. It is equally important to those who have achieved recovery as a result of the program. They may continue to participate and receive assistance from the Group. The Group’s total responsibility is perhaps best expressed by the First Tradition:

“Our common welfare should come first; personal recovery depends upon C.A. unity.”

Most meetings follow a more or less set format, although distinctive variations have developed. It is our experience that many meetings begin or end with some form of prayer. While each C.A. group is autonomous, and adopts its own format, C.A. as such never endorses, opposes or affiliates, expressed or implied, with any sect, denomination, politics, organization or institution. A leader describes the C.A. program briefly for the benefit of the newcomers, and then turns the meeting over to a speaker or to participation.

Some time during the meeting, there is usually a period for C.A. related announcements of interest to the meeting. A collection is taken to cover rent, literature and chips, refreshments and contributions to the District, Area and World Service Office as per the 7th Tradition. Many groups hold a business meeting monthly or at other intervals to discuss such items as: group finances, distribution of 7th Tradition, meeting format, election of trusted servants, etc. It is suggested that records be kept of group business meeting decisions. Each group is autonomous, and the group conscience decides how business meetings may be conducted.

Those attending meetings are reminded that any opinions or interpretations they may hear are solely those of the speaker or participant involved. All members are free to interpret the recovery program in their own terms, but none can speak for the local Group or C.A. as a whole.

THE C.A. HOME GROUP

A Home Group may be defined as a meeting a member regularly attends. The Home Group provides an opportunity to begin to be of service. Experience shows a Home Group is one of the vital components to continuous sobriety. In a Home Group members can participate in the business meeting and are able to cast their vote as a part of the group conscience.

MEETING/GROUP TYPES:

• OPEN: Attended by C.A. members, their families, friends and other interested people.
• CLOSED: Attendance is limited to C.A. members only.
• MEETING/GROUP STYLES:
• STEP STUDY: Participants study and discuss the Twelve Steps with the Group.
• BOOK STUDY: Participants study and discuss with the Group any of these books: A Quiet Peace; Hope, Faith & Courage Stories from the Fellowship of Cocaine Anonymous (the “C.A. Storybook”); Hope, Faith & Courage Volume II Stories and Literature from the Fellowship of Cocaine Anonymous; Alcoholics Anonymous (the “Big Book”), Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions (the “12 and 12″), and The A.A. Service Manual, combined with the 12 Concepts For World Service”.
• PARTICIPATION: Participants discuss their experience, strength and hope with the meeting/group one member at a time.
• SPEAKER: One or more C.A. members share their personal experience, strength and hope with the meeting/group at length.
• H&I MEETINGS: H&I meetings are often restricted to patients or residents only, and not open to the community as a whole. These meetings are brought into facilities by local C.A. members through the H&I committee. H&I meetings are basically beginners meetings; with the chairperson of each meeting providing the speakers. They are not usually listed in the area or world directory; and they do not observe the 7th Tradition. Certain facilities may require H&I participants to be subject to sobriety requirements, dress and conduct codes.
• ONLINE MEETINGS: Email meetings – These are email based and run 24 hours a day, 7days a week. Voice meetings – These are voice only, voice over internet protocol meetings and are similar in format to face to face meetings.