literature

 Intergroup

• News and vacancies
• Getting literature
• Intergroup spending plan
• Intergroup reports and minutes

Who are we?

DA Intergroup is a service arm of the Debtors Anonymous groups in the UK. DA and BDA members have found ways out of the pain and confusion caused by debting by participating in the DA program. We want to tell others who are experiencing the same problems that there is a solution. The DA Intergroup combines the resources of the individual groups to carry out projects that would be difficult for a single group to achieve.

When and where does intergroup meet?

Intergroup meets on the last Saturday of every 2nd month from 2-5pm. Meetings are on the odd months of the year (Jan, Mar, May, July, Sept, Nov).

The location is Westminster Methodist Central Hall (The Broadbent Room), Matthew Parker St, Westminster, London SW1H 9NH. Tubes: Westminster/St James’ Park. See map here. The room we have for the next meeting is the John Tudor Room. We can decide on the 28th whether this is an acceptable location.

Any DA or BDA member may attend and speak, but only group representatives may vote.

Meeting dates in 2012:

• Sat 28 January (Annual General Meeting)
• Sat 31 March
• Sat 19 May (note change of date)
• Sat 28 July
• Sat 29 September
• Sat 24 November

Meeting dates in 2011:

• Sat 29 January (Annual General Meeting)
• Sat 26 March Sat 16th April (rearranged due to protest march)
• Sat 28 May
• Sat 30 July
• Sat 24 September
• Sat 26 November

Achievements in 2011

• Intergroup took over the annual DA convention at Bloomsbury Baptist Church, and ran it successfully in October 2011.  We are immensely grateful to the previous convention organizer, who has created such a strong platform for this event.
• An Intergroup Service Representative (ISR) was again sent to World Service Conference, with strong financial support from St John’s Hyde Park Crescent group
• Regular bi-monthly meetings were held, all but one being quorate (which requires at least five GSRs from groups to attend)
• Revision of literature procedures was started
• DA’s 21st birthday in the UK was celebrated
• The DAUK PI committee coined ‘One Member One Action’ as a slogan, which has been taken up by World Service
• Email, telephone and postal contact was consistently maintained, and help and information provided wherever requested
• Donations to Intergroup were almost doubled compared to the previous year, partly through a reintroduction of Gratutude Week
• Website hosting was moved, the site rebuilt, and is clearer and more flexible, at lower cost to DA.  The meetings list was maintained, and news items produced for changes, with a short response time
• Intergroup maintained and met its spending plan

Achievements in 2009

• Regular meetings on Saturdays every 2 months, to allow people from out of London to attend more easily
• Changed meeting format to allow a focus on a particular issue, including sponsorship, service, PRGs and Public Information
• This led to a well-attended Sponsorship Workshop in January 2010
• Held PRG days in Penzance and Bristol, in order to support new groups
• Provided partial funding to allow Hyde Park Crescent group to send representative to World Service Conference in the USA
• Maintained clear finances and provided monthly reports to groups
• Developed and worked to a spending plan; agreed to move to system where Intergroup is funded on the donations from the previous year, allowing a spending plan for the coming year to be agreed at the January AGM
• Rewrote and updated Intergroup Byelaws
• Maintained and improved handling of postal, email and telephone enquiries
• Improved communication to and from GSRs through an email address, intergroup@debtorsanonymous.org.uk, with messages forwarded automatically to an up-to-date list of intergroup members
• Website kept current and improved
• Provided literature to groups

Achievements in 2008

• Regular meetings moved to Saturdays, every 2 months, to allow people from out of London to attend more easily
• Postal, email and telephone enquiries answered
• Website kept current and improved
• Maintained clear finances and provided monthly reports to groups
• Provided literature to groups, and set up improved email system
• Set up separate email addresses for literature and loner support
• Developed new initiatives for loner support
• Funded representative to attend World Service Conference
• New secretary voted in

Achievements in 2007

• Regular monthly Intergroup meetings
• Agreed new DA visions for 2007 – 2011
• Initialised and maintained DA intergroup postal address
• Initialised and maintained a new telephone service
• Acquired ownership of the www.debtorsanonymous.org.uk domain name
• Created a new website that allows flexibility and can be easily maintained
• Responded to email and telephone enquiries
• Drafted letter to be sent to Citizens Advice Bureaux
• Maintained clear finances and provided monthly reports to groups
• Voted in new Treasurer, Vice Treasurer and Literature secretary during 2007

Donations to intergroup

Intergroup is funded largely through donations from DA and BDA groups. It has been agreed that these donations (whether by cash or cheque) should normally be made at intergroup meetings by the group representative, so that the donation is witnessed and recorded. Intergroup will accept donations by post from groups outside London, although attendance at intergroup is always the preferred method.

Contacting Intergroup

See here.

Welcome to Debtors Anonymous!

Here you can find a new way of living that offers recovery from compulsive debting and hope for a healthier, happier, more prosperous life. We suggest that you keep an open mind and attend at least six meetings as soon as possible. If you do not like one meeting, attend another. The important thing is to keep coming back.

Here are some suggestions to help you get started:

• First and foremost, we suggest that you stop incurring any new unsecured debt, one day at a time. Unsecured debt is any debt not backed up by some form of collateral. Although refraining from compulsive debting may be difficult and painful, it establishes a solid foundation for our recovery.
• To gain clarity about how we use money, we record our expenses and our income. A good way to do this is to buy a small notebook or planner that is easy to carry. Throughout each day, we write down everything we spend and any income we receive, no matter how small the amount. Do not be discouraged if you cannot keep perfect records. If you lose track, begin again as soon as you can. We believe in progress, not perfection.
• We recommend purchasing and reading D.A. literature, where you may find useful suggestions and new insights. We also find it helpful to read these books: A Currency of Hope, Alcoholics Anonymous, and The Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions of Alcoholics Anonymous. When you read AA literature, we suggest substituting the words debt and debting for alcohol and drinking.
• We suggest that you begin by working the Twelve Steps and by practicing the D.A. Tools because we did not arrive overnight at the circumstances that brought us to D.A., so solving our problems has required time and effort. While using the Tools of D.A. provides some relief from compulsive debting, working the Steps leads to recovery.
• We suggest that you work the Twelve Steps in order, preferably with a sponsor or an experienced D.A. member who has worked and continues to work the Steps to the best of his or her ability. For us, true, long-lasting recovery results from a spiritual experience gained by working the Steps.
• We recommend beginning with Step One. The sense of despair or “hitting bottom” we felt when we first came to D.A. was the first step in our recovery. We saw that our own attempts to scheme and manipulate our debts did not work. We admitted that we were powerless over debt. We were ready to ask for help.
• To help you work the program, we suggest asking someone who lives the recovery you want to be your sponsor. Sponsors help us work the 12 Steps, use the D.A. Tools and carry out our Action Plans.
• After you have recorded your income and expenses for (preferably) 30-45 days, attended at least six meetings, and made a commitment to D.A., we suggest that you ask two members of D.A., (usually a man and a woman) to meet with you in a Pressure Relief Meeting. These two D.A. members should have abstained from incurring unsecured debt for at least 90 days and had two Pressure Relief Meetings, and if possible they should have recovery from issues similar to yours. As the members of your Pressure Relief Group (PRG), they will help you review your situation and formulate a Spending Plan and an Action Plan.
• We suggest that you practice the principle of anonymity. Who we see and what we hear at meetings and in private conversations is kept confidential. This principle allows all members the freedom to speak openly and honestly without fear that our words or deeds may be used to harm us. Please respect the anonymity of all D.A. members.

The above essay is Conference-approved material that is reprinted with permission from the General Service Board of Debtors Anonymous; Copyright DA Intergroup UK 2008