If you have a friend or family member whose drinking bothers you, or have grown up in a home where alcohol affected you, we invite you to try one of our District 20 Al-Anon or Alateen meetings located here in the Santa Clara Valley of Northern California. The Al-Anon program has helped many of us find serenity, whether the alcoholic is still drinking or not.
District 20 hosts a bi-monthly Speaker Meeting in Saratoga, California, which is open to the public and provides an introduction to Al-Anon and Alateen for those interested in our programs. All may attend and families are welcome.
Although we learn to view the alcoholic with loving detachment in Al-Anon and Alateen, we do not tolerate domestic violence. If you live in an unsafe environment or have been physically threatened, we urge you to find help. There are many support services for victims of domestic violence in this region.
Newcomers are welcome at all Al-Anon meetings and events, except for those meetings which have restricted access at institutions, as noted on our meeting lists. Some meetings have babysitting and some are for women-only or for men-only, as noted on our meeting lists.
Only teens and kids may attend Alateen meetings as newcomers, since District 20 abides by NCWSA Alateen Member Safety Requirements. Adult sponsors assist at Alateen meetings only after being pre-screened by NCWSA, the DOJ and FBI, and when Alateen members at specific meetings invite them to participate.
We have meetings in English and Spanish in District 20. All Pages on this Web site can be translated to several languages, using the "Translate This Site" tool on the right side bar, or Google Translate online.
How do I find a meeting that is right for me?
Click on the blue links below to go directly to pages showing D-20 meetings, events, and other information.
District 20 hosts Al-Anon meetings, Spanish-speaking Al-Anon meetings, and Alateen meetings (including Spanish-speaking Alateen meetings) in Alviso, Cupertino, Los Altos, Mountain View, San Jose, Santa Clara, Saratoga and Sunnyvale, here in Northern California.
Our district also has a number of Al-Anon meetings for women only, for men only, and for adult children of alcoholics. All meetings welcome newcomers (except those with restricted access, or Alateen meetings, which do not admit adults), so please feel free to stay after the meeting and ask questions. It is suggested that you try a few different meetings to find one that feels right for you.
Print a copy of our District 20 Al-Anon and Alateen Master Meeting List, which includes Al-Anon and Alateen meetings in both English and Spanish.
You can also find meetings near District 20 on the SCV-AFG.org Web site (Santa Clara Valley Intergroup, Inc., an Al-Anon information Service for Districts 20, 21 and 22.) Meetings North of Mountain View can also be found on the District 13 Web site, Mid-Peninsula Al-Anon and Alateen Family Groups.
If you are looking for meetings outside of Santa Clara Valley, Domestic and international Al-Anon and Alateen meetings can be found on the Al-Anon and Alateen Family Groups World Service Organization site: https://al-anon.org/al-anon-meetings/.
Al-Anon and Alateen special events are a great way to learn more about the program and to enjoy speakers and meet others who have been where you are now, in a casual and friendly environment.
To learn more about our bi-monthly District 20 Speaker Meeting, please visit our District 20 Speaker Meeting page. There you will find dates and information about our next Friday night event in Saratoga, California, and you can print a leaflet about our next event to share with others.
Please visit the Northern California World Service Area (NCWSA) Event List to see a Calendar of events for Northern California, and to print event flyers.
What about my kids? Is there help for them?
Children are affected by the disease of Alcoholism. District 20 hosts Alateen meetings in Spanish and in English, guided by screened Al-Anon adults doing Alateen service. In these meetings kids can share their experience, strength and hope within a safe environment, among their peers.
Adults may not attend Alateen meetings unless they are a screened sponsor, however, child and teen newcomers are always welcome.
At our meetings we use our first names only and do not share our professions, politics, religion, or other outside interests. Anonymity helps us to protect our privacy and keeps the focus on ourselves and our program, "just for today."
We hear guidelines for spiritual growth and group harmony at the start of the meeting, then perhaps a speaker or a reading from our literature, followed by a period of time so all who want to may share. We try to keep the focus on ourselves and our own well being, not the alcoholic, whom we try to view with loving detachment.
We welcome newcomers, as we have been where you are today and we understand as few others can. Although we pass the basket for donations to cover expenses like rent and refreshments, newcomers are asked not to contribute at their first meeting, as part of our welcome to the Al-Anon Family Groups.
To read our complete Al-Anon/Alateen secretary meeting script and readings (what we call our "secretary binder"), please visit our Mobile and Printable Meeting Readings page.
Want to read more Al-Anon and Alateen literature?
See our Links to WSO Al-Anon and Alateen Literature page for more information on free "conference approved literature available online for free download.
You may now download the entire WSO 2014-2017 Al-Anon Service Manual for free.
Keep coming back, it works!
We often say, "Don't leave before the miracle." Many find that when they continue to attend meetings they gain a new sense of peace. Also, choosing a sponsor (someone who has something you want and helps to guide you through the program), makes progress towards a more peaceful life, more rewarding.
What does an Al-Anon/Alateen district do?
District 20 supports the meetings in our cities by sharing literature, reporting back on news from the Northern California World Service Committee (NCWSC), and by planning events, through our monthly business meetings.
How can I do service in District 20?
At monthly D-20 business meetings group representatives and our District 20 District Representative discuss our budget, future district events, and news from SCV AFG Intergroup, NCWSA and WSO. If you would like to do service with District 20, please see our District 20 Business Meetings and Forms page, and our District 20 Service Positions page.
Our District 20 Speaker Meetings need home group members to help set up the room, to act as secretary for the two-hour event, to donate and serve refreshments, to sell their own literature (we reimburse for any pamphlets given away at the event), and to help clean up and put away chairs. If your meeting would like to host one of our Speaker Meetings, please see our Speaker Meeting Host Group Duties page. D-20 provides the room and the speakers, but the host groups run the meetings. Without host groups, our Speaker Meetings can't take place, so your service is very much appreciated.
I am a Group Officer. How do I update my meeting listings?
District 20 group reps. and our District Rep. also assist local meetings to keep their registrations active and up-to-date with NCWSA and WSO, so they may retain their WSO registration number. If your group needs to update your group contacts, your contact address, your meeting day, date, time or location, or your group focus, please see our Find, Add or Update Meeting Listings page.
If you or your group needs a form, please see our Links to NCWSA Al-Anon and Alateen Forms page.
How do I contact District 20?
I'm having trouble opening documents on this site. Can you help me?
Please see our Technical Support page. Our site runs on Blogger and uses Google Docs and PDF's uploaded to Google Drive, set to share with "anyone who has the link." Our site has been tested across platforms on devices running on factory default settings.
Occasionally Apple device users will have issues with our PDF's if they have downloaded Apps or changed the factory default settings on their Apple device. (For that reason, we have listed all of D-20 meetings in text on this site.) We also have an Apple Device PDF Workaround Procedure listing on our Technical Support page, which may allow you to view our PDF's on your Apple device, if you are experiencing the above issues.