Public Relations Handbook - Narcotics Anonymous

T REATMENT: I NPATIENT,O UTPATIENT, AND RESIDENTIAL S ETTINGSThe Narcotics Anonymous World Services Membership Survey suggests thatover 40 percent of our members found NA meetings through theencouragement of addiction-treatment providers. Creating relationships withaddiction-treatment professionals can be an important way to ensure thatNA’s message is available to addicts. When interacting with treatment facilities andprofessional-treatment associations, we strive to achieve the following goals: Increase the visibility, reliability, and accessibility of Narcotics Anonymous. Raise awareness that NA is a resource in the community. Demonstrate that NA is a viable, self-sustaining organization with nomembership dues.Regardless of the treatment setting, this chapter covers ways to build relationshipsthat are more likely to help us achieve the goals stated above. Information aboutpreparing a committee, training trusted servants, and developing approaches for howto interact in various treatment settings is contained in this chapter.Core public relations principlesThis section is excerpted from Chapter Two.chapter7Key topicsCore PR principlesPR & addiction treatmentPlanning & preparation forareas & committeesDiscussing & addressingknown challenges intreatment settingsPutting your plan into actionResourcesKey icons Practical experience Preparation and training tips PR principles for discussionAttractionWhat is likely to be attractive to the publicand to professionals who interact withaddicts is reliable communication,responsibility, commitment, and behaviorthat reflects recovery. We can demonstratethe reliability of NA by showing up andfulfilling the obligations we make, whether itis to return a telephone call for informationabout NA or supplying meeting directories ata public library. We can learn to draw on theexperiences of NA members to fulfill thecommitments we make to professionals. Inthe event that something prevents us fromour keeping an appointment, we can ask afellow member to fulfill our commitment forus and notify the person with whom we havethe commitment to let them know someoneelse will be coming in our place. We can alsomaintain good communication within ourcommittee by staying in contact with theOctober 2006 | PR Handbook | 63