Chapter 1 PR HandBook input back to WSO by Aug.1

[godsonmyside]

WHAT IS PUBLIC RELATIONS
IN NARCOTICS ANONYMOUS?

Page 3
PR HANDBOOK – CHAPTER 1
WHAT IS PUBLIC RELATIONS IN NARCOTICS ANONYMOUS?
For our purposes in Narcotics Anonymous, public relations refers to all of the
relationships we create and maintain with each other in our groups and service
communities, potential members, and the general public. This chapter introduces
the handbook’s foundational themes, such as what public relations means to NA
members, and how developing positive and long-lasting relationships with the
public is fundamental to successfully carrying the NA message. As a result, a solid
understanding of NA’s spiritual principles is the foundation of our public relations
service. Various examples will be used throughout this handbook to illustrate those
principles as they pertain to our service efforts. The discussions here also
establish the premise of conscientious planning in order to make our public
relations more effective. The handbook’s set-up and organization is also outlined
in this chapter.
We carry NA’s message of recovery in a variety of situations. Perhaps an NA
service committee decides that listing an NA recovery meeting in a local
newspaper might reach a population of using addicts who haven’t found the NA
program. Or an area committee desires to create a relationship with the public
through a carefully planned presentation given by age-appropriate NA members at
a local youth detention facility. Or a nurse in an emergency room thinks to give an
NA helpline phone number to an overdose patient because of a recent NA
informational presentation at that hospital. No matter how NA’s message of
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recovery is presented in our service efforts, it is more accessible when NA
members energetically seek to make the public aware of the NA program.
We strive toward strong public relations so addicts have the opportunity to learn
about our program of recovery from drug addiction. It is our desire for NA to be
alive and thriving in every local community. An aspect of Narcotics Anonymous
World Services’ Vision Statement is to “work together in a spirit of unity and
cooperation to carry our message of recovery.” We cannot separate the
relationship between local fellowships and the individual communities where those
fellowships are located. It is through the unity of members in their service efforts
and a cooperative attitude toward those in our communities that the NA message
grows. We have a collective responsibility. Our service work with the public helps
to ensure that NA becomes, and remains, a respected, credible, and accessible
choice for addicts. The Public Relations Handbook has been created to help us
increase the recognition of NA and to enhance the credibility of our program of
recovery so that addicts seeking help don’t have to continue to suffer from active
addiction.
Public Relations Goals
The question is then, how do we go about creating opportunities for addicts to
experience the NA message? The following points are goals that can help make
NA a more visible and attractive choice for addicts:
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• We work to clarify what services NA can and cannot provide to the
community
• We work to make NA members more aware of their role in NA’s
public image
• We work to ensure that the public recognizes NA as a positive and
reliable organization
• We work to develop valuable relationships with professionals and the
general public
What does public relations in NA include?
The scope of Public Relations in Narcotics Anonymous incorporates how we relate
with those outside of Narcotics Anonymous, how we relate with each other in our
efforts to carry the NA message to prospective members, and our general
behavior in our communities. Many of us have experienced our most powerful PR
opportunity when we least expected it. Maybe it was the time when we thoroughly
cleaned a venue following an NA event. The public who observed us in that setting
could have thought of NA members as considerate and conscientious people.
Then again, maybe it was the loud and disrespectful manner in which we
conducted ourselves when leaving a meeting facility (such as yelling, beeping
horns, or revving motorbikes as we leave meeting facilities). We were more than
likely oblivious to how others may have perceived our boisterous actions.
Whatever the situation, these examples illustrate that our relations with the public
involve all those with whom we interact. We have choices about the impression
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we leave with those around us. Our actions and behavior tend to act as our
strongest public relations message. Given this, many of us may be performing
public relations without having been elected to a trusted servant position or without
any prior service experience. There may not even be any focused public relations
efforts operating in our local NA communities. Yet, we can hopefully begin to see
the ways in which our relationships with the public are a part of everything we do.
Spiritual Principles: service efforts can be creative but NA principles remain
our common foundation
Although the ways we provide public relations will differ based on factors within a
particular community, the underlying principles found in NA’s steps, traditions, and
concepts are our fellowship’s common ground. Chapter two contains NA’s core
principles and philosophies that affect our public relations efforts. Yet, the following
principles are a foundation for NA’s public relations that will be further discussed in
the remaining chapters of the handbook:
o Commitment to Principled Action: As members enter public arenas,
there are key principles to keep in mind when representing NA: our primary
purpose and our spiritual foundation of placing principles before
personalities. Our primary purpose of carrying NA’s message to suffering
addicts can help to guide our motivations, action, and goals. The service
efforts of our groups and service committees are more effective when
principles guide our actions. And because public relations opportunities
present themselves at anytime, we seek to practice NA’s principles in all
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that we do. It doesn’t matter if an NA member is a newcomer or an oldtimer,
if the NA community is young or if it is established—a suffering addict has a
better chance at finding recovery if we all strive to practice NA’s
fundamental principles. Principles such as accountability, cooperation and
communication, help us to carry the message of recovery to still suffering
addicts.
o Goodwill: The principle of goodwill can help motivate our service efforts.
Goodwill means that we try to serve in a friendly way that encourages
success and promotes a positive reputation for the NA program. Our
relationships with non-addicts are founded on this principle. We try to allow
for a mutual exchange of ideas between trusted servants and non-addicts.
We give of ourselves and we allow others to give to us. This open attitude
helps cultivate positive outcomes for all those involved.
o Open-mindedness: Sections of this handbook may illustrate an experience
from a member who is handling a specific situation that might, at first, look
like it doesn’t apply to your current issue. However, the principles that may
be most useful in handling that identified situation could be contained under
a topic or chapter that you hadn’t anticipated. For example, the principles
we use when preparing for a presentation to a treatment professional
probably applies when approaching an answering service for helpline calls.
By keeping an open attitude, we are usually able to find the principles we
need to guide us in service.
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o Flexible and Fluid: Our hope is that the principle-based discussions in this
handbook support public relations efforts that may just be beginning, those
that may be ongoing, or those that may be continuing to develop. Flexibility
speaks to an NA community’s ability to respond to and address the
particular needs as they arise. Some of the personal experiences contained
in the handbook may not apply directly to your NA community. For example,
a community may read an article in a local newspaper about NA. It turns
out that the article has a couple of mistakes. Since there is no service
meeting in the next week, members of the service body communicate with
each other. After several telephone discussions, they decide on a course of
action to help correct the situation. In their efforts to insure clarity of the NA
message, these members were flexible and used the telephone to help
resolve a dilemma. Other members may use technology such as the
internet, and still others may be able to meet face to face. Through a sense
of responsibility to our primary purpose and by communicating with
members in service, we strive to create ways for addicts to find NA in any
community at any stage of its development.
Planning Our Public Relations Services
There is an in-depth discussion about planning and how it is essential to NA’s
public relations efforts in chapter three. Within that chapter, there are descriptions
for a variety of plans, as well as a planning tool to use within NA service
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communities. In this section, there are four general aspects of planning that
connect to our overall public relations efforts in NA:
1. Planning includes inventorying local resources, both human and
financial, to see what may work in a particular community: It has been
our experience that communities who sit down and talk openly with each
other about their human and financial resources are often more successful
in their service efforts. One way to determine what a plan will look like is
through an inventory. The outcome of a local NA community’s inventory will
vary. Issues that affect a local community, and the strengths of the
members who are of service there, may be different in each community. An
inventory considers the abilities, experiences, and financial reality of the
local service community. With a completed inventory, services can be
planned in ways that more effectively carry NA’s message of recovery from
addiction.
2. Planning includes preparing and prioritizing: Public Relations in NA
centers around establishing and maintaining relationships. Representing
NA to the public is distinctly different than identifying as a member in a
recovery meeting. When we identify as an addict, we share experience,
strength, and hope from our personal recovery journey. We usually do not
plan or rehearse what we are going to say in a meeting. Yet, when we
present NA in a public venue, our efforts may be more effective if we take
some time to plan and to practice discussing the information we are going
to provide about NA. We also take time to discuss and decide which of our
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planned service aims seem to be the most needed for our community. Our
goal in NA service is to utilize our human and financial resources in a way
that can best reach public audiences and addicts in active addiction.
3. Planning Includes Communication: Communication is essential when
planning our public relations service endeavors. We need to communicate
within the service body, with NA groups, and with our various public
contacts. Effective planning allows for an ongoing dialogue. The
effectiveness of our services depends on thorough, clear, and open
communication.
4. Planning includes demonstrating cooperation with various
committees: Cooperation, or working together in harmony with various
service committees, supports our PR efforts. Creating a plan can guide
several service committees in a united public relations endeavor. These
joint ventures may be a more effective way to coordinate PR actions.
However, joint committee efforts aren’t the only way to go about public
relations service. The ultimate goal is to create a spirit of unity and
cooperation within the service body. Participating together, communicating
where NA seems to be needed most in the community, and being aware of
how to best use member resources seems to further our public relations
aims. These cooperative actions help us to more effectively carry the
message of recovery to those seeking a drug free life.
Handbook Set-up and Use
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As has been previously stated, this handbook is written for NA members with a
variety of experience and needs, including those who may have no prior
knowledge of Public Relations practices or service experience. We hope this is an
easy-to-use resource that communicates to members in a simple and meaningful
manner. In an effort to make this handbook functional, each chapter begins with
an overview or digest of the material contained within that chapter. The bulk of
each chapter will be made up of the more detailed and comprehensive
information. The information contained within each chapter represents the
collective experience, strength, and hope of our members’ service efforts within
the fellowship at the time of this handbook’s creation. As with most handbooks,
we have included an index, table of contents, and appendices that contain sample
tools and resource material
Although the handbook is organized in a way that allows members to use sections
as needed, we encourage you to explore all the information contained within the
various chapters. Many of us may have been trained with a specific service
manual or committee guidelines. As a result, the material presented in this
handbook may seem unfamiliar. Chapter titles like “Technology” and “Healthcare”
may be new concepts for some members. Public relations asks our members to
work collaboratively and cooperatively. For example, in some service
communities, Hospitals and Institutions, Public Information, Phoneline, and
Activities subcommittees may come together to accomplish a PR activity. Or, in
other NA communities, members of NA groups may come together to provide
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certain services. There is more than one “correct” way to provide these services;
and each NA community may coordinate their public relations efforts a little
differently.
Conclusion
The first point listed in the NA World Services vision statement infuses us with the
hope “…that one day: Every addict in the world has the chance to experience our
message in his or her own language and culture and find the opportunity for a new
way of life.” Many of us are aware of the struggles and challenges our founding
members faced as each one of them sought to carry the message of recovery to
suffering addicts. The worldwide Fellowship of Narcotics Anonymous, in the
1950s, was in its beginning stage, and the world for those early members
consisted of a few states in the US. This is no longer true. Our growth exploded
during the 1980s and 1990s, and we continue to grow. As a result, our public
relations efforts can be more effective if we acknowledge the various geographic,
social, religious, ethnic, political, and economic factors that affect an addict’s ability
to find NA’s message. The disease of addiction does not afflict any one particular
group of people—its deadly grip knows no boundaries. And our message—the
message we are all entrusted with carrying—knows no limits.
We know that even with our commitment to addressing service needs in this
handbook, something will be missing. Ultimately, it is you, the member, who will
breathe life into NA’s public relations efforts. It is your own experiences that are
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the true examples, and the most valuable resource that we have. The efforts
undertaken by each NA community are vital to the success of the worldwide
fellowship. We often learn so much from those who approach challenges in unique
and surprising ways. Don’t be afraid to share your ideas and your experiences with
one another. After all, one addict helping another is what our recovery program is
founded on—why shouldn’t our service efforts utilize that same fundamental
principle?

[eddie z.]

Thanks for posting this, Todd! I'll have to show it my husband. He's going to be our area PI chair and was calling my grandsponsor recently to get information about the PR Handbook because she's one of the people working on it, I think. Anyway, they are playing phone tag, so this post should help.

Love and hugs,
Eddie :firefight

[godsonmyside]

Cool, other 2 chapter will be posted also!!
Peace,
Todd J.

[eddie z.]

Thanks again, Todd! Turns out hubby already got a copy somewhere, though. He wants to help with the Internet stuff.

Love and hugs,
Eddie