AA Meetings in Albuquerque

Find an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting in Albuquerque today through the Central Office of Albuquerque at albuquerqueaa.org, which answers a 24-hour phone line at (505) 266-1900. Spanish-speaking groups are listed by the Oficina Intergrupal Hispana, and our meeting finder at /meetings/ searches public AA feeds by day and format.

Call 911 if someone is overdosing, seizing, not breathing, or cannot be woken. For a mental health or suicide crisis, call or text 988.

How to Find AA Meetings Across Albuquerque

The Central Office of Albuquerque is the local A.A. clearinghouse for the city and the surrounding central New Mexico districts. Its phone, (505) 266-1900, is answered by a live member 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The office at 1921 Alvarado Dr NE is open Monday through Friday 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and weekends 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., and it both publishes the meeting schedule and sells A.A. literature. The schedule is available on paper and on the website.

Spanish-speaking meetings are served by a separate office. The Oficina Intergrupal Hispana answers 505-266-3688 and keeps its own group list at aaoficinahispanadealbuquerque.org. Its schedule reaches beyond the city — groups meet in Los Lunas, Española and Santa Fe as well as Albuquerque, and several Albuquerque groups use the Heights Club on Marble Avenue NE. Ask the office which meeting matches your night.

A.A. itself says the national website is not a meeting finder; it sends people to a local resource and to the free Meeting Guide app. Our meeting finder is a third option, searching public A.A. and N.A. feeds by day, time, fellowship, and format. Whichever path you take, confirm the meeting with the group before you go.

Albuquerque Meeting Hubs & Surrounding Areas

The city runs east to west along Central Avenue, the old Route 66, and meetings follow that spine and the neighborhoods off it.

• Downtown and the Alvarado Transportation Center. Downtown is the transit hub of the city, where buses and the Rail Runner commuter train meet at the Alvarado Transportation Center. Meetings downtown are reachable by bus and by the ART rapid-transit line.
• Central Avenue, Nob Hill and the university. The Central Avenue corridor links downtown, Nob Hill and the University of New Mexico, and the ART line runs the length of it. This is a convenient stretch if you are relying on transit rather than a car.
• Uptown and the Northeast Heights. The Uptown Transit Center anchors the shopping and office district on the east side, and the Heights area around Marble Avenue NE is one of the places the Spanish-language fellowship gathers.
• The Westside and Central & Unser. The Central & Unser Transit Center is the western terminus of the ART line and a park-and-ride for the west side. Groups there serve the fast-growing neighborhoods west of the river.
• South Valley and Los Lunas. The South Valley sits just south of the city, and the Spanish-language schedule extends down to Los Lunas. Check the district listing for those meetings.
• Surrounding cities. Rio Rancho, Bernalillo and Santa Fe are separate cities with their own A.A. offices, so a listing that says Albuquerque is not a substitute for a meeting in one of them. Use the live directory to find the office nearest you.

Meeting Formats & What to Expect

A.A. labels meetings open or closed. An open meeting is available to anyone interested in A.A.'s program of recovery, and people who are not alcoholics may attend as observers. A closed meeting is for A.A. members, or for anyone with a drinking problem who wants to stop. If you are not sure which is right, choose an open meeting.

The office schedule also tags each listing by type:

• Newcomer: for people new to recovery.
• Discussion: members share on a chosen topic.
• Step Study / 12 & 12: working through A.A.'s Steps and Traditions.
• Big Book: reading and discussing A.A.'s basic text.
• Speaker: one or two members share their story before the meeting opens.
• Men's, women's, Spanish, and wheelchair-accessible meetings appear as their own types.

Whatever the format, two rules are the same everywhere. It is free — A.A. says there are no dues or fees for membership, and the passing basket is a voluntary contribution you may decline. And you are never required to speak; A.A.'s newcomer page says sitting and listening is enough. Anonymity is a founding principle of the fellowship, which is why members do not identify themselves publicly. The first-meeting guide walks through what a typical hour looks like.

Getting Around & Meeting Online

ABQ RIDE, the city's transit department, runs the bus network, and its Albuquerque Rapid Transit (ART) service is a bus rapid-transit line that runs primarily along Central Avenue — the historic Route 66 — connecting the Central & Unser Transit Center on the west side through downtown and Nob Hill to the Uptown Transit Center. ART and the rest of ABQ RIDE are currently zero-fare, so no ticket is needed. The Alvarado Transportation Center downtown links ART with the Rail Runner Express, Greyhound and Amtrak.

Meetings are not only in person. A.A. recognises online and phone meetings, and local listings include virtual options. Our finder surfaces online and hybrid meetings from public feeds. The online A.A. meetings guide explains how video and phone meetings run, including the option to join with your camera off.

Peer Support vs. Medical Care

A meeting is peer support; it is not professionally led treatment. NIDA notes that mutual-help groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous are peer-led rather than run by healthcare professionals, which makes them different from clinical care — though they are free and can be used alongside it.

Some risks belong in a doctor's office. NIAAA warns that alcohol withdrawal can be life threatening when people who have been drinking heavily stop abruptly instead of cutting back or stopping with medical support. Up to half of people with alcohol use disorder experience some withdrawal, and a small proportion need days of medical detox for symptoms that can be dangerous. If that is your situation, speak with a clinician before you stop.

For help beyond a meeting:

• Emergency: call 911 for an overdose, a seizure, trouble breathing, or someone who cannot be roused.
• Crisis: call or text 988 for a mental health or suicide crisis.
• Treatment: search FindTreatment.gov or call SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357) — free, confidential, 24/7, in English and Spanish.
• Referral help: call or text (800) 653-9376 for help working out a level of care. SmarterRecovery is a referral helpline, not the Central Office of Albuquerque; calling is free to you because treatment providers fund the service.

Call or text (800) 653-9376 if you want help finding treatment. If you need a meeting tonight, start with the meeting finder or the Central Office schedule and confirm it. For a medical emergency or a suicide crisis, call 911 or 988 first.

Additional Resources

Sources cited on this page:

• Central Office of Albuquerque (Albuquerque AA)
• Central Office of Albuquerque: About Central Office (24-hour phone, address, hours, districts served)
• Oficina Intergrupal Hispana de Albuquerque (Spanish-language AA meetings)
• City of Albuquerque: Albuquerque Rapid Transit (ART) overview (free BRT along Central Avenue, transit centers)
• City of Albuquerque: ABQ RIDE Routes & Schedules (zero fares)
• A.A.: Need help with a drinking problem? (what to expect at a first meeting)
• A.A.: What to Expect at an A.A. Meeting (open and closed meetings, meeting types)
• A.A.: A.A. and Anonymity
• A.A.: Find A.A. Near You (regional and online meeting information)
• A.A.: Meeting Guide app
• NIDA: Treatment (mutual-help groups are peer-led, not clinical treatment)
• NIAAA Core Resource on Alcohol: Alcohol Use Disorder, From Risk to Diagnosis to Recovery
• SAMHSA National Helpline
• SAMHSA FindTreatment.gov
• 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline
• SmarterRecovery meeting finder (public meeting search; listings are not verified by this site)
• SmarterRecovery about page (referral disclosure)

Common Questions