What NA is
A peer fellowship, not a clinical service.
Narcotics Anonymous is a nonprofit fellowship of recovering addicts who meet regularly to help each other stay clean. There are no dues, no fees, and no waiting list — anyone who wants to stop using can walk into an open meeting today. As NA’s Basic Text puts it:
An addict, any addict, can stop using drugs, lose the desire to use, and find a new way to live.
Narcotics Anonymous
NA doesn’t provide counseling, medical care, legal advice, housing, or case management, and members aren’t credentialed professionals. NA is peer support: people in recovery helping other addicts recover. It complements the work of treatment providers, courts, and clinicians — it isn’t a substitute for any of it.
Referring someone
No forms, no fax, no wait.
Send them to a meeting
Open meetings welcome anyone, including someone attending for the first time at your suggestion. No referral or appointment is needed.
Give them the helpline
Answered by recovering addicts around the clock. It’s often an easier first step than a meeting for someone who isn’t ready yet.
Nothing required on your end
NA doesn’t ask for referral paperwork, records releases, or intake forms. You don’t need to notify anyone or follow up — the person you refer decides whether and when to go.
Literature for professionals
Free NA World Services materials written for this audience specifically.
Information about NA
NA: A Resource in Your Community
In Times of Illness
NA Groups and Medication
For Those in Treatment
Narcotics Anonymous and Persons Receiving Medication-Assisted Treatment
Mental Health in Recovery (IP #30)
An Introduction to NA Meetings
By Young Addicts, For Young Addicts
These and more are collected on NA World Services’ Resources for Professionals page.
Hospitals & Institutions
Bringing meetings into facilities.
WNCNA’s Hospitals & Institutions (H&I) subcommittee brings NA meetings into jails, prisons, detox centers, and treatment facilities across the area, and is always looking for facilities willing to host and members willing to speak. If you work at a facility that could use a meeting, or want someone in your care to hear from NA members directly, reach out.
Questions
For presentations, general questions about NA, or anything not covered above, the area’s Public Relations subcommittee is the point of contact: pr.wncna@gmail.com. For anyone who needs to talk to a recovering addict right now, the helpline runs 24 hours a day: 866-925-2148.