Is Alateen for You? – Southern California World Service

Alateen is a fellowship of young Al-Anon members, usually 12 to 18 years old, whose lives have been affected by someone’s else’s drinking. In Southern California you can also find young Alateen meetings usually for Al-Anon members aged 6 to 12.

To find Alateen meetings near you, go to the Meeting Information page and follow a link to the Al-Anon website nearest you.

Alateen interests are represented by the Alateen Sponsor Coordinator, the Alateen Process Person, the Alateen Events Coordinator, the Alateen Communications Coordinator, and the Alateen Member’s Coordinator all of whom serve on the Area World Service Board. You can contact any of the board members with questions or concerns using the Contact Us page.

If you have seen or heard something Alateen-related that concerns you,

Please Notify Us

Your concerns will be kept anonymous. We may contact you if we need more information.

Alateen is for young people whose lives have been affected by someone else’s drinking. Sometimes, the active drinking has stopped, or the active drinker may not live with us anymore. Even though the alcohol may be gone, and the alcoholic is gone or recovering in AA, we are still affected. Many of us have received help from Alateen or Al-Anon.

Read Lila’s story about finding compassion, empathy, and family in Alateen.

The following twenty questions are to help you decide whether or not Alateen is for you:

Do you believe no one could possibly understand how you feel?
Do you cover up your real feelings by pretending you don’t care?
Do you feel nobody really loves you or cares what happens to you?
Do you tell lies to cover up for some one else’s drinking or what’s happening in your home?
Do you stay out of the house as much as possible because you hate it there?
Are you afraid or embarrassed to bring your friends home?
Has someone’s drinking upset you?
Are holidays and gatherings spoiled because of drinking or others’ reactions to the drinking?
Are you afraid to speak up sometimes for fear it will set off a drinking bout or start another fight?
Do you think the drinker’s behavior is caused by you, other members of your family, friends, or rotten breaks in life?
Do you make threats such as, “If you don’t stop drinking and fighting, I’ll run away?”
Do you make promises about behavior, such as, “I’ll get better grades,” “go to church,” or “keep my room clean” in exchange for a promise that the drinking and fighting stop?
Do you feel that if your mom or dad loved you, she or he would stop drinking?
Do you ever threaten or actually hurt yourself to scare your parents into saying “I’m sorry,” or “I love you”?
Do you or your family have money problems because of someone else’s drinking?
Are mealtimes frequently stressful or delayed because of drinking or fighting?
Have you considered calling the police because of the abusive behavior in your home?
Have you refused dates because your date may find out about the drinking or fighting?
Do you think your problems would be solved if the drinking stopped?
Do you ever treat people (teachers, schoolmates, teammates, etc.) unjustly because you are angry at someone else for drinking too much?

If you answered “yes” to some of these questions, Alateen may be able to help you.

Reprinted with permission of Al-Anon Family Group Headquarters, Inc.