Every two years, the Seattle Area Service Committee does an inventory, where members identify what’s working well and what needs to be worked on. Members that participated in the 2021 inventory shared that “making SASC a more inclusive and accessible place, especially in regards to race, sex, and gender” was a top priority for improvement.

Page 36 of our Basic Text tells us that “If we truly want to be free, we will take a good look at input from fellow addicts. If the shortcomings we discover are real, and we have a chance to be rid of them, we will surely experience a sense of well-being.” Because of this, SASC has a grievance procedure, and members are encouraged to bring up what they need to during Open Share each month at Area. But when neither of those options feel safe, comfortable, or appropriate in the face of an exclusive experience at the Area-level, members can now submit an anonymous comment.

Page 9 of our Basic Text states that “Anyone may join us, regardless of age, race, sexual identity, creed, religion or lack of religion.” But just because anyone may join us at SASC doesn’t mean that they will. Some members shared at the 2021 inventory that “the demographics of our membership are not accurately reflected at the Area-level.” So why is that, and what can we do?

Submitting an anonymous comment related to these topics is an act of service and of love to the fellowship, and it creates highly-valuable feedback that can be used to make SASC a more inclusive and accessible place.

Any member can use the anonymous comment box below to describe their experience, strength, and hope. Submissions may be made by a single person or by a group. It can be helpful to think about and answer some or all of the following questions in your submission:

In an ideal world, how would this experience have gone differently?
What spiritual principles do you wish had been applied that you felt were missing?
What could be done to prevent this from happening again?
All submissions will be received by SASC admins as well as inventory ad hoc committee members and will be reviewed on a monthly basis during ad hoc committee meetings for patterns, suggestions, and other valuable insights.