H&I Subcommittee (Hospitals and Institutions)
H&I brings meetings into jails, prison, detox and other treatment facilities where people cannot get out to meetings. You can be of service and help out your own recovery by being a part of the H&I subcommittee and help take meetings into facilities and be part of panels of speakers and share your story in order to help carry the message of Narcotics Anonymous.
Hospitals & Institutions Subcommittee Guidelines (May 2024)
Everything that occurs in the course of N.A. service must be motivated by the desire to successfully carry the message of recovery to the addict who still suffers. It is for this reason that these guidelines have been compiled.
Definition
The Hospitals & Institutions (H&I) Subcommittee is an operating subcommittee of the Western North Carolina Area of Narcotics Anonymous. The subcommittee serves as an outreach resource to bring meetings into jails, prison, detox and other treatment facilities where people cannot get out to meetings. This committee is not a governing committee and should never be considered as such.
Purpose
The H&I Subcommittee is a standing subcommittee of the Western North Carolina Area of Narcotics Anonymous. It consists of volunteers whose purpose is to carry the message to the addict that still suffers that cannot get out to meetings and is often the way that someone first comes in contact with Narcotics Anonymous. The volunteers believe in the concept “no addict in a hospital or institution seeking recovery need die without having had a chance to find a better way of life”. The role of the committee is to provide help through the message of hope until the addict is able to attend meetings.
Function
H&I take meetings into facilities with a panel of speakers who share their story in order to help carry the message of Narcotics Anonymous. The H&I subcommittee conducts monthly meetings on the second Saturday of every month, coordinates the development of any new H&I presentations and meetings, and to make available literature to be distributed by Panel Leaders in the H&I institutional meetings. The H&I subcommittee operates on a budget that is approved and allocated by WNCANA.
All activities are carried out in accordance with the Policy of the WNCANA, the Twelve Traditions of Narcotics Anonymous, and the Twelve Concepts of Service.
Specific Duties and Responsibilities of Subcommittee:
Creates and establishes an annual working plan.
Conducts regularly scheduled meetings.
Maintains a database of addicts who have successfully completed orientation.
Provides a communications link between the Regional H&I and WNCANA.
Maintains a list of all appropriate hospitals and institutions in the Area.
Maintains a list of facilities serviced by assigned Panel Coordinator Leader.
Maintains a list of facilities currently not serviced by H&I.
Provides the IT Chair of the monthly subcommittee meeting so the meeting information can be added to the ASC calendar and if anything changes (time, date, location, etc.) notifies the IT Chair immediately. Provides a written report of current and planned activity with financial request and or expenditures prior to the monthly ASC meeting through the WNCNA.org website reporting form. Attends the monthly ASC meeting and the monthly trusted servants meeting.
Conducts training for volunteers.
Provides a yearly budget at the March meeting of ASC.
Provides revised guidelines at the April meeting of ASC.
Uses the Area Google Drive and Gmail for documents and correspondence.
Description
The committee shall consist of Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson, Secretary, Panel Coordinator, Alternate Secretary, Literature Chair, Panel Leaders, Alternate Panel Leader, Panel Members and Silent Panel Members. The Chairperson is elected at the WNCANA level. The other committee officers are elected by the H&I subcommittee members and voted into position by a majority vote of the H&I subcommittee members. All meetings are open to all interested members of N.A., but only members of this committee shall be considered voting members.
Qualifications of Subcommittee Chairpersons
Qualifications: All Area Subcommittee Chairs shall have a minimum of three years clean time. For all subcommittees that are served by a Vice Chair they shall have a minimum of two years clean time. GSR’s can also be subcommittee chairpersons, however at Area meetings they cannot vote on proposals pertaining to the subcommittee they chair and his/her presence will be excluded from the quorum.
Chair: responsibilities
Willingness and desire to serve a one-year commitment with three years clean time. Minimum of one year WNCANA ASC experience service and one year involvement with the subcommittee.
Has read the WNCANA ASC policy and has read and understood the Subcommittee guidelines. An example of living recovery through the application of the Twelve Steps, Twelve Traditions and Twelve Concepts of Narcotics Anonymous. Ensures that the traditions are upheld in all matters. Arranges the time and agenda for Subcommittee meetings.
Is ultimately responsible for files, records, and overall functioning of the subcommittee. Presides over, and is responsible for maintaining order in meetings.
Responsible for all money transactions; reports monthly all expenditures, ensures all expenditures are within the approved Budget and requests additional funding when expenses are necessary over the
allotted budget.
Works with the panel coordinators(s) to draft all correspondence to facilities served by the subcommittee.
Maintains meeting referral information about the fellowship so that panel leaders can refer those leaving an H&I setting for another area, to a meeting or helpline number.
Mentors the Subcommittee Vice-Chair on the H&I Chair responsibilities.
Has a home group and a sponsor.
Vice-Chair: responsibilities
Willingness and desire to serve a one year commitment with two years clean time. Minimum of six months WNCANA service involvement.
An example of living recovery through the application of the Twelve Steps, Twelve Traditions and Twelve Concepts of Narcotics Anonymous.
Has read and understood the Subcommittee guidelines; has an understanding of the WNCANA service structure.
To work closely with and assist in all duties of the Subcommittee to learn the responsibilities of the Chairperson.
Keeps appraised of all changes and updates to H&I guidelines.
Attend ASC meetings in the absence of the Chairperson.
In the absence of any of the Coordinators, the Vice-Chairperson will serve in that position. When needed, assumes the position as H&I Chair (Pro-tem) until the Chair assumes the position again. In case of the H&I Chair position becomes vacant during the year serves as Chair until confirmed by the ASC or until a new Chair is elected.
Carry out responsibilities delegated by the chair.
Has a home group and a sponsor.
Secretary: qualifications and responsibilities
Willingness and desire to serve a one year commitment with a minimum of six month clean time. Has read the Subcommittee guidelines.
An example of living recovery through the application of the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions of Narcotics Anonymous.
Requires secretarial experience.
Takes an accurate set of minutes at each monthly meeting, and distributes them to subcommittee members prior to the next meeting.
Uploads copies of those minutes to the cloud storage platform.
Keeps a list of all members of the subcommittee along with their contact information. Has a home group and a sponsor.
Literature Coordinator: qualifications and responsibilities
Willingness and desire to serve a one year commitment with one year clean time. Has read the Subcommittee guidelines.
An example of living recovery through the application of the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions of Narcotics Anonymous.
Distributes NA conference-approved literature and any other items the subcommittee uses in carrying the message,such as copies of ReachingOut and The NA Way,to panel leaders.
Assures accountability, a complete record of all transactions must be kept, and a report given at the regular subcommittee meetings.
This person should always be aware of the amount of literature being distributed so the panel leaders’ literature requests remain prudent and the subcommittee can fairly distribute the literature without exceeding its budget. Regular audits should be done to ensure that the literature outlays are reasonable and accounted for.
Has a home group and a sponsor.
Panel Coordinator: qualifications and responsibilities
Willingness to serve a one year commitment with one year of clean time.
Has read the Subcommittee guidelines.
An example of living recovery through the application of the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions of Narcotics Anonymous.
It is the panel coordinator’s responsibility to see that the meetings/presentations are conducted in accordance with the guidelines of the H&I subcommittee and the rules of the facility. This person acts as the liaison between the H&I subcommittee and a given facility. The panel coordinator is also responsible for seeing that new H&I meeting presentations are conducted in accordance to H&I guidelines.
Has a home group and a sponsor.
Panel Leaders: qualifications and responsibilities
Willingness to serve with one year of clean time. Term is six months
Has read the Subcommittee guidelines.
An example of living recovery through the application of the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions of Narcotics Anonymous.
Panel leaders should be selected by the H&I subcommittee at its regular subcommittee meetings. The panel leader can decide what type of meeting to have by using one of the meeting formats. The panel leader accepts members of the fellowship to be panel members usually from the panel member list.
The panel leader is responsible to ensure that the meeting starts and ends on time. Any problems should be reported to the panel coordinator and then included in the regular report to the H&I subcommittee.
Alternate Panel Leader: qualifications and responsibilities
Willingness to serve with one year of clean time. Term is six months with the expectation that the holder of this position will step up to the position of Panel Leader.
Has read the Subcommittee guidelines.
An example of living recovery through the application of the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions of Narcotics Anonymous.
Alternate Panel Leaders should be selected by the H&I subcommittee at its regular subcommittee meetings.
Acts as Panel Leader in the case of Panel Leader’s absence.
If the office of Panel Leader for a particular facility becomes vacant, serves as acting Panel Leader until confirmed by the H & I subcommittee or until a new Panel leader is elected.
Assists the Panel Leader in selecting members of the fellowship to be panel members. An Alternate Panel Leader may attend the monthly H&I subcommittee meeting and give a facility’s monthly report in place of the Panel Leader.
Panel Member: qualifications and responsibilities
Willingness to serve with six months of clean time (12 months for detention facilities) as well as willingness to share their experience, strength, and hope.
Has read the Subcommittee guidelines.
This is the essential element of H&I work – the member who goes to share his or her experience, strength, and hope at the H&I meeting. Without panel members, H&I work would be completely impersonal at best.
There are basic requirements for members who are to carry the message in H&I. A good understanding of the fellowship and the policies relevant to this H&I meeting is essential.
At the discretion of the panel leader, a person may attend one H&I meeting at a facility without orientation. After that, orientation at the H&I meeting is required.
Silent Panel Member: qualifications and responsibilities
Willingness to serve with three months clean time as well as a willingness to learn and listen. Has read the Subcommittee guidelines.
After H&I orientation and coordination with Panel leader, attends H&I meetings with Panel Leader and Panel Members but does not share during the course of the meeting.
Should always keep in mind that He/she may be seen as a representative of Narcotics Anonymous (even if silent) and that they should always responsibly conduct themselves while in a facility.
General Policies
Voting Principles:
Voting privileges are granted to members include all persons who have been oriented in accordance with H&I guidelines and have attended two consecutive meetings; privilege is established at the start of the third meeting. Any member who is absent from two consecutive meetings without contacting the Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson, and/or Secretary will forfeit voting privileges. Privilege is reestablished after attending two consecutive meetings at the start of the next meeting.
Waiving Clean Time Requirements:
To elect a candidate who does not meet the clean time requirement there must be no candidates that have the requirements and are willing to serve.
Terms of Service:
All officers will serve 12 months (except as otherwise designated) and are eligible for re-election to a second term of one year followed by two years of ineligibility in the same position.
Nominations for the Chair position will be brought before the ASC per WNCANA policy.
Dismissal and Resignation:
Officers may be dismissed from their positions at any time for relapse, gross neglect of responsibilities, continuous absenteeism of two consecutive meetings (except for humanitarian/compassionate reasons), sporadic attendance at Subcommittee meetings, inability to perform responsibilities, or refusal to comply with this document, their duties, and responsibilities, abuse of power, or mistreating other committee members.
In cases of dismissal
A written motion for dismissal, with due cause stated, must be entered and seconded at the monthly subcommittee. The person must be duly notified and shall be allowed to speak on their behalf before any vote is taken, at or before the next meeting (unless the whereabouts of the person are not known). If the person objects, it is then taken to ASC as a Proposal and voted on at that venue. Any member of this committee has the right to go before the ASC to redress any grievance they have. Officers may resign
Voluntary resignation should be submitted in writing to the Chair or Vice-Chair. In case of the Chair’s resignation, it should be sent to ASC and the ASC Chair can appoint an interim chair. That person will serve until the next election.
Additional Requirements and Guidelines
All H&I committee members must always follow the twelfth tradition guarding and protecting the anonymity of all clients in institutions.
Any member of the H&I Subcommittee is automatically disqualified from H&I Subcommittee membership upon relapse. Individuals may again be eligible when he/she complies with H&I Subcommittee guidelines. Any Member not complying with said guidelines or fails to adhere to and abide by the policies and procedures of the institution may be relieved of all H&I Subcommittee privileges.
H&I Subcommittee members shall not engage or interfere with the policies, procedures or processes of any institution. This includes institutions being served, doctors, courts and/or its representatives, and any other institution where an H&I Subcommittee may be held. All H&I Subcommittee institutional meetings must be under the direct supervision of a Panel Leader. Any new H&I Subcommittee institutional meeting must be voted on by the H&I Subcommittee and may not exist without representation of an approved Panel Leader.
Adopted: April 24, 2010
Revised: January 2015
Updated: May 2024