Narcotics Anonymous Meeting

The Narcotics Anonymous meeting I attended was comprised of approximately fifty people. There were three women including myself, the rest were men. Most of the people were African American males between the ages of twenty-one and sixty. Their "clean time" ranged from two days to sixteen years.

I initially set out to go to a meeting close to where I live in Mill Basin, Brooklyn; however, I mistook the address and ended up in a neighborhood that was economically disadvantaged. The meeting was in the heart of Canarise, Brooklyn. The meeting took place in a building called, "Canarise Awake," where all the services, including NA, were geared toward addiction treatment.

I felt out of place and uncomfortable. As I looked around the room I formed the opinion that these people could not possible have anything worthwhile to say. I wanted to leave immediately. I wanted to find another meeting, but time did not permit, I had to stay. I sat there staring at the clock and praying I would not be killed, raped or mugged or a combination of the three. I pulled my sleeve over my two-carat diamond engagement ring and tried to blend in. The meeting was one hour and a half long.

The NA meeting was held in the basement of the building. The room was dingey but clean, and smelled like pancake syrup. I felt physically nauseous and claustrophobic. The room could have comfortably fit twenty people, however there were about fifty of us crammed into it.

Peers conducted the meeting. Different members performed different tasks. One member opened the meeting and another read the general announcements. Then the members went around the room taking chances reading the twelve steps. New comers were cautioned against making any major changes in their lives for at least a year. I had planned on attending as a quiet observer; I was surprised when I was asked if it was my first time at that meeting. I answered the question and introduced myself. The guest speaker conducted the remainder of the meeting.