Lincoln Park Candlelight Meeting

For this assignment, the 12-step program that I chose to attend was a narcotics anonymous group. After researching for the nearest NA and AA group, I was very surprised to find out with how many groups are located near me. I chose to visit and sit in the Lincoln Park Candlelight Meeting, because the time, location, and date was very convenient for me to attend. I was informed that this group has been around for over twenty years, and is held every Friday from 7:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Before the meeting started, during the break, and when the group concluded, 50’s oldies music was provided. The group was setup in a square formation, with a candle that was lit after the break, because the lights were shut off. For this session, there were a total of 35 people who were present, 7 females and 28 males, all Hispanic. The majority of the group are former gang members who had a lot of tattoos and dressed like the typical “cholo”.
The group is not ran by the moderator, but is chosen and led by someone from the audience who becomes the group leader. I was informed that the group is led by someone different each week. The group leader starts the group …show more content…
Once everyone is done reading, the group then recognizes those individuals who have been 30 days to 18 months clean by rewarding them their sobriety chips. Once everyone has been given their chips, the group has a birthday cake celebration for anyone who is celebrating of being clean of narcotics for over one year. The group leader then discusses their personal story, and a 10 minute break is provided. After the break is over, the lights are shut off and a candle is lit in the middle of the group, allowing anyone to speak openly among the group. Just as the meeting is about to conclude, the lights are turned on, and a special prayer is said with everyone gathering in a circle and placing their arms around each