Life After Rehab: AA Meetings in Fort Myers

AA Meetings In Fort Myers | Doing Life With Addiction Support Groups

Alcoholics Anonymous or AA is an organization that’s available to people around the globe that have been challenged with an alcohol use disorder at some time in life. The members of any particular AA group support and organize their meetings, which aren’t linked with any political or religious groups. The main goal of an AA 12-step program is to promote sobriety for alcoholics in recovery. When you join an AA support group, you remain anonymous so that each member can participate in the group meetings honestly and comfortably without fear of being recognized or stigmatized.

The only requirement for joining an AA program in Fort Myers is your desire to remain sober and resist the urges or cravings that can lead to relapse.

The 12 steps of AA involve following a set of spiritual principles to be practiced to do life differently so you can live happier, without feeling an obsession with drinking alcohol. 

For example, Step 1 of AA is admitting that you are an alcoholic and how difficult it is for you to manage your alcohol use. The 12th step involves helping others who are in recovery by offering encouragement or becoming a sponsor to someone who has completed all of the steps.

Throughout Fort Myers and in nearby towns, you’ll find a wide variety of AA meetings you can attend to help support your life in recovery. The Lee County Area Intergroup of Alcoholics Anonymous lists every session they know daily, showing the meeting’s name and topic, location, time, address, and region. Some are held in Fort Myers, while others occur in other nearby areas, such as Cape Coral, North Fort Myers, Fort Myers Beach, or solely online. 

You can also check the Meeting Guide on the Alcoholics Anonymous website. The Meeting Guide is a free app you can use on your phone to give you meeting information for whichever area you happen to be in at the time.  

You will find that most local AA meetings take place in neighborhood churches, community centers, or other buildings. Here are some AA meetings in Fort Myers that you can look into to provide you with the support you’ll need in life after recovery:

Singleness of Purpose at Yana Club

These AA meetings supported by the Yana Foundation, a non-profit organization, are designed to help people maintain a life of sobriety. They hold various AA meetings daily, with some explicitly targeted for AA, and others, such as Alateen, Adult Children of Alcoholics (ACOA), and Alanon. The Singleness of Purpose meetings exist to provide those in recovery with a safe, supportive environment through which they can work the 12 steps that will help change lives for the better. 

1185 Lake McGregor Dr., Fort Myers, FL 33919

AA Meeting: Fort Myers Group – St. Luke’s Church

At St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, Open Alcoholics Anonymous speaker meetings are held on Thursdays at 8 p.m. Open AA meetings are available to anyone who wants to attend, whether you suffer from alcoholism or not. You can join Open AA Meetings while in recovery, as can your friends, family members, and children can, too. Closed Meetings of Alcoholics Anonymous and Step Study AA Meetings are held on Mondays at 8 p.m. A Closed AA Meeting is just for people who are in recovery or desire to achieve sobriety. The Step Study Meeting has members focus on one or two steps at each meeting, often with a speaker leading the discussion about one of the steps or a reading. Discussions follow. The church has wheelchair access.

2635 S. Cleveland Ave., Fort Myers, FL 

Church of the Cross – Southern Women Alcoholics Anonymous

AA meetings at the Church of the Cross are Closed Meetings, open only to women who have a desire to stop drinking. Meetings are held online on Fridays, from 6 to 7 p.m. 

13500 Freshman Ln., Fort Myers, FL 33912

Grace Church – Sober on the Shores

Open meetings are held at Grace Church in Fort Myers on Fridays from 12 to 1 p.m. Anyone can attend these AA meetings that meet in the office. 

14036 Matanzas Dr., Fort Myers, FL 33905

St. Columbkille Catholic Church 

Men’s Stag Meetings are closed meetings held at St. Columbkille Church, occurring on Fridays from 6:30-7:30 p.m. They take place at the entrance by the grotto, near the 1st parking lot on the right.

12171 Iona Rd., Fort Myers, FL 33908

To find a meeting that will best suit your needs for a life in recovery, it’s good to know a few of the various types of AA meetings that exist. For instance, the first thing to know is the difference between Open and Closed AA meetings. An Open Meeting means anyone is welcome to attend, although only the person struggling with alcohol use disorder speaks. A Closed Meeting is just for recovering alcoholics.

Many AA meetings tailor their meeting to a particular topic or type of discussion. When you hear mention of the Big Book, this refers to the text for AA meetings. A copy of the book will be given to attendees that you can keep for your personal use. A Big Book Step Study meeting focuses on a specific topic in the text during a session.

Discussion meetings are chaired by a person for guides the meeting topic of discussion before briefly speaking about experience, strength, and hope.

Living Sober is a booklet published by AA. These meetings discuss some of the material in Living Sober publications.

Step Meetings focus on one of the 12 steps, with participants reading and discussing one or two steps in detail.

Beginners are welcome to attend any AA meetings, where they can meet others in recovery as they begin their new life in sobriety.

Benefits of AA in Helping You Stay Sober

The benefits of AA are many in helping you remain sober in recovery. Joining Alcoholics Anonymous can help you stay on track in recovery in a safe, therapeutic atmosphere. When you commit to this 12-step program, your chances of achieving long-lasting, sustained sobriety significantly increase.

AA is a program that lets you share your experiences with your peers, talk about your life in recovery and find support in one another. It’s usually effortless to find an AA meeting wherever you are at many various venues at most times of the day or night. 

During your participation in AA meetings, you can speak your truth out loud, talking about your struggles with alcohol to those who understand, first-hand, where you’re coming from. You may want to get up and speak about your life concerning triggers that might cause you to relapse or how family members are helpful or a hindrance to your recovery efforts. You’ll also have time at meetings to apologize for your past errors and talk about ways you can repair relationships that were damaged due to your relationship with alcohol.

You’ll have the benefit of receiving vital advice from others who have been exactly where you are now. Your peers will be able to give you tips on what helped them remain sober and how they could get past some challenging moments. You’ll also receive unconditional support at AA meetings. 

Although AA meetings provide you with a welcoming, non-judgmental environment, you may be a little nervous or awkward about attending your first meeting. You only need to listen at your first meeting if that’s all you wish to do. You may hear stories that will resonate with you and your recovery journey. What you will get out of going to AA meetings regularly is a support system that offers you hope and a sense of purpose.

Help is almost always available when you need it, with AA meetings scheduled across the world at different times of the day and evening. If you feel as though you might relapse, the help you’ll need to stay on the wagon is available at an AA meeting. Cravings can happen at any time, so knowing people are there for you when those urges crop up is an important benefit of the AA program. 

An AA meeting is where you can listen, share, and learn from one another, which is especially important during early recovery. There’s no judgment from your peers, and you’ll gain the support of others who are struggling with sobriety. Some of their strategies for avoiding relapse can genuinely help you when you come up against a setback or experience an issue common to someone in recovery.

Remember that AA meetings cost you nothing and are available nearly everywhere. If you can’t make a meeting in person, there are online meetings available, too. If you or someone you know is struggling with drugs or alcohol in Fort Myers, call WhiteSands now. 


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Al-Anon Meetings

If you or a loved one needs help with abuse and/or treatment, please call the WhiteSands Treatment at (877) 855-3470. Our addiction specialists can assess your recovery needs and help you get the addiction treatment that provides the best chance for your long-term recovery.

About the Author

Jackie has been involved in the substance abuse and addiction treatment sector for over five years and this is something that she is truly eager about. She has a passion for writing and continuously works to create informative pieces that not only educate and inform the public about the disease of addiction but also provide solutions for those who struggle with drug and alcohol abuse.