Pandemic forces people in recovery to make difficult choices

In the midst of a pandemic, people with substance abuse issues are facing new challenges about how to prioritize their health.

Many group meetings like Alcoholics Anonymous have had to pause in-person gatherings during COVID-19, since AA has not been deemed an essential service.

When in-person meetings were deemed non-essential in Gov. Jay Insee’s March 23 “Stay Home, Stay Safe” order, AA members had to decide what to do.

According to a March 23 press release, every AA group is autonomous and has the capacity to decide how to proceed during the pandemic.

Since AA does not collect membership information, there are no exact figures on how many people rely on AA. AA’s website reports over 2 million members, though it acknowledges its data is limited.

The press release reports that some AA meetings are continuing to meet with social distance precautions in place, while others are holding virtual meetings or using social media to stay in touch.

CJ is a local AA member who also works for a local AA Central Service Office and spoke using a pseudonym because he hasn’t made his recovery public. He said meetings in the area have decided to move forward in different ways.

“What we’ve experienced and what everybody’s experienced is an unprecedented change in how we operate, whether it’s a business or Alcoholics Anonymous,” said CJ.

Usually, AA meetings take place in church basements, health centers, and community buildings. According to AA’s website, AA chapters hold meetings that are open to the public as well as closed meetings. There are also meetings specifically for women, men, LGBTQ people, and other communities. During meetings, people gather to share stories about their life and substance abuse journeys.

But these meetings used to rely on the accessibility of in-person support, when newcomers and those without internet access could find an understanding group to aid in their recovery. CJ said the face-to-face aspect is important — when someone walks into a meeting in need of serious help, they need a hug. That’s not happening during COVID-19.

CJ said that like many businesses and organizations, AA has had to adjust.

“But those businesses aren’t fighting a life or death battle, like some of our members are,” CJ said. “So it has been a challenge.”

MAKING THE TRANSITION

Angela Frye, clinical director at Bayview Recovery Center in Tacoma, said the transition to providing treatment and support during COVID-19 has been smoother than expected, though the center has had to make adjustments.

“We’ve kept engagements. We haven’t had a whole lot of people leave treatment,” Frye said. “We’ve had to adjust what we do. We’ve had to keep people inside, which has been tough.”

Frye said that the virtual meetings work for some people, but others miss the support of in-person gatherings.

Bayview Recovery Center offers a range of treatment options, and some, including partial hospitalization, have remained in-person. For those inpatient programs, group outings have been limited to controlled outdoor activities that allow for social distancing. Frye said walks on Ruston Way have been one way for participants to stay active.

Some group counseling sessions have continued to meet face-to-face, while others have transitioned to Zoom.

AA also had to quickly pivot to support its members.

When members realized their in-person support group would be affected by the pandemic, CJ says, the Pierce County AA Central Service Office had to respond to questions about what would happen next.

“Once the churches shut down, our AA hotline rang off the hook,” CJ said.

As meetings went online, members had to quickly adjust to a new way of doing things. CJ said virtual gatherings have introduced unique challenges.

“We went through a process of trying to coordinate Zoom meetings, which we never really had done,” CJ said. “Locally, individual meetings didn’t have any online resources whatsoever. Most of the meetings that we had just shut down.”

Some people who don’t have internet capabilities haven’t been able to access meetings that went online, CJ said.

“There are many people, especially in Tacoma, who don’t have the financial ability to be online,” he said. “There are a lot of people who have been left out of us being able to help them in a normal manner. None of our founders ever planned on the fact that we might just have to shut our doors.”

Frye says she has seen some people struggle during COVID-19.

“It was early on when I observed it, because they shut down AA meetings or NA meetings,” she said. “When you cut off a person from their support system, sometimes it’s just impossible. They rely on those.”

BENEFITS TO MOVING ONLINE

However, CJ said there also have been advantages to online meetings.

“The online platform has provided some great and useful tools,” he said.

CJ said people can attend virtual AA meetings at any time of day and in any location, which opens up possibilities for people who need support. Additionally, newcomers who might feel hesitant about attending in-person meetings might feel more comfortable starting with a virtual meeting.

“Online, the advantage the newcomer has is they can go and try to test the waters with a Zoom meeting and be completely anonymous,” CJ said.

But he thinks the in-person support that AA provides is part of why it works so well for some people.

“The real amazing magic happens in a face-to-face manner when people get together and help each other at a meeting,” he said. “The communication aspect of body language is much more poignant in a face-to-face manner. So Zoom meetings in a lot of cases lack the magic, and that’s what a lot of our members say.”

CJ said AA will continue to use virtual meetings to reach more people.

“AA is going through a growth period, where we’re trying to figure out how we’re going to utilize this great tool from here on out,” he said.

Frye said her center is moving toward full reopening cautiously and slowly. She emphasized the variety of resources available to those struggling with substance abuse.

“Don’t stop reaching out just because you think COVID-19 has made the world stop,” Frye said. “It hasn’t stopped for addiction treatment, not for us.”

This story was originally published July 5, 2020 at 7:00 AM.