Information for New Members & FAQs

FAQ Sheet: Ad Hoc Committee to Explore the Merger of East Bay North (EBN) and East Bay Central (EBC) Areas

What is this FAQ sheet about?

This FAQ sheet is meant to orient new members to the Ad Hoc Committee to Explore the Merger of East Bay North (EBN) and East Bay Central (EBC) Areas.

What does “Area” mean to me, when I only go to my home group and other meetings each week?

Every meeting is autonomous, and the most important thing is that individual meetings and NA as a whole continues to carry our message to the addict who still suffers. We also know from our traditions that personal recovery depends on NA unity. Your meeting is in a geographic Area that has an Area Service Committee composed of all GSRs in the Area in which you attend meetings and other elected trusted servants. All the Areas together make up a region that has designated representatives from all the Areas. In East Bay North and East Bay Central, it has not always been easy to fill all the positions needed to make the Area Service Committees run the business of the Area, which in turn ensures individual meetings get what they need like access to literature, meeting schedules, and NA activities and events.

Were EBN and EBC always separate?

EBN and EBC were split into two groups in the mid-late 80’s when some members felt they did not have enough representation at the Area Service Committee level from certain parts of the East Bay.

What is the purpose of the ad hoc committee?

The ad hoc committee is exploring what it would mean to merge EBC and EBN and what key questions must be answered before such a merger can happen. The committee's key activities are to (1) gather and input information; (2) make recommendations to EBN and EBC Area services committees based on information gathered; and (3) help operationalize any recommendations that are jointly accepted by EBN and EBC Area Service Committees.

What are some important limits to this Ad Hoc Committee?

This Committee is not meant to be a decision-making group for either EBN and EBC. We are only gathering information and making recommendations based on that information. This Committee is not meant to impact or assess meetings in the Mission Peak Area.

When does the committee meet?

2nd Sunday of the month via Zoom from 12:30-1:30 PM
Meeting ID: 836 4662 5116
Passcode: 444Hope

How long will this Committee exist?

This committee was empowered to exist by the EBN and EBC Area Service Committees.
The Committee is not a standing committee.  It is carrying out temporary work and will disband when the EBN and EBC Area Service Committees decide its work is finished. It is estimated that in order to answer all the questions or concerns that will allow this committee to make recommendations, its work will last approximately 1 year from its formation (December 2023).

What are some key activities and timeline for this work?

1) Formation of committee (Dec-Jan-Feb)

2) Work Plan and approval (get approval from EBN and EBC Area Service Committees to continue work and develop recommendations) (April-May-June)

3) Get input from individual meetings and members (April-May-June)

4) Develop recommendations (July-August-September)

5) Operationalize recommendations (October, November, December)

How is the committee organized?

The committee has a chair, primary and assistant note takers, designated outreach persons, and member attendees that participate based on their interest and time available.

Who can be a member?

The committee is open to any and all NA members in the EBN or EBC areas. Other members of any Area are welcome to observe.

What are some examples of questions that the committee will consider?

See a list of questions that have already been asked here.

The committee will continue to collect questions and concerns throughout this process and address them collectively via group conscience.

How can members ask a question or express concerns that they would like The Committee to explore/address?

Either by attending a meeting at the time listed above or by submitting a survey response here.

How does this committee communicate?

The committee is gathering input from individual group meetings in both Areas as to the potential pros and cons of such a merger. The committee has voted upon and approved the following communication methods: 

●        Email list–The Committee has an email list of all persons attending committee meetings. A recap is distributed to the list after every meeting. Here is an example of those comms. 

●        Shared Folder–The Committee has a shared Google Drive folder housed in the EBN Google Drive and is available to all members of this committee.

●        Asana–Collaboration software for project management. This is primarily used to coordinate changes, map a timeline, and ensure we’re outlining (and achieving) objectives and key results.

●        Monthly Reports–Reports are provided to EBN and EBC Area Service Committees will happen monthly. Questions, concerns or suggestions will be addressed at each Area Service Committee.

●        Direct Communications–provided to individual Meetings by Outreach persons of the Committee.

●        Survey–written or electronic. These will be distributed at the Area level and via Outreach volunteers to meetings in both Areas.

●        Mission Peak–Mission Peak will be kept advised of our work through the MP Liaison(s) and MP Chair. Mission Peak meetings and Area will not be noticeably impacted by these proposed changes.

Who will help with getting the message out in both Areas?

1.    Suzie L.

2.    La Shawn

3.    David B-W

4.    Gillian B.

5.    Despie B.

6.    David A.