AA Meetings in Des Moines

Find an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting in Des Moines today through the Des Moines AA Central Office and Intergroup at aadsmintergroup.org, whose phone line (515) 282-8550 is answered around the clock. It serves Des Moines and surrounding communities. 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 Des Moines

Des Moines' A.A. central office is the Des Moines AA Central Office and Intergroup. Its purpose, in its own words, is to carry the message of Alcoholics Anonymous and to serve the groups in Des Moines and surrounding communities. The Intergroup page describes a 24-hour hotline that answers questions from people seeking help, sober members, professionals, and the public.

The office phone is (515) 282-8550, answered 24 hours a day, and the contact page gives the address as 1620 Pleasant Street, #228, Des Moines, IA 50313. Walk-in hours are Monday, Wednesday, and Friday 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Tuesday and Thursday noon to 7 p.m. The office keeps approved A.A. literature and publishes the meeting list. The Intergroup business meeting is held on the second Sunday of the month, in person with a Zoom option.

A.A.'s national site at aa.org is not a meeting finder; it points people to a local office, which here is the Central Office, and names the free Meeting Guide app and the Online Intergroup for phone and online meetings. The how-to-find guide compares both routes.

This site's meeting finder is another option: it searches public A.A. and N.A. feeds by day, time, fellowship, and format, including online.

Des Moines Meeting Hubs & Communities

Meetings are spread across the metro, and the Central Office directory and the wider Iowa A.A. list are organized so you can search from where you are.

• Downtown and the East Village. Downtown Des Moines holds a cluster of meetings within reach of DART Central Station, the downtown transit hub, including groups that meet at the area's recovery clubhouses.
• Beaverdale and the north side. The older north-side neighborhoods have recurring groups within a short drive or bus ride of downtown.
• The south side and the airport corridor. Groups meet south of downtown along the Fleur Drive and Army Post Road corridors.
• West Des Moines and Valley Junction. West of the city, West Des Moines and the Valley Junction district are inside the service area and have their own meetings.
• Urbandale, Clive, and Johnston. The western and northwestern suburbs are served by DART routes and appear in the same directory.
• Ankeny and Pleasant Hill. The metro's outer suburbs are listed as well, which is why searching by city helps.

Common Meeting Formats & What to Expect

A.A. divides meetings into open and closed. An open meeting is open to anyone interested in A.A.'s program, and nonalcoholics may attend as observers. A closed meeting is for A.A. members, or for people who have a drinking problem and want to stop drinking. When in doubt, start with an open meeting.

The Des Moines listings mark each meeting by format so you can choose before you go:

• Newcomer or beginner meetings, for people new to recovery.
• Discussion: members share on a topic; the most common style.
• Big Book and step study: reading A.A.'s basic text and working the Steps.
• Speaker: one or two members tell their story.
• Men's, women's, and wheelchair-accessible groups are listed the same way, and online meetings are marked.

Every meeting is free. A.A. says there are no dues or fees for membership and that you do not have to pay anything to attend; a basket may be passed for voluntary contributions and passing it on is fine. And you never have to speak — A.A.'s newcomer page says you can sit and listen. Anonymity means what you hear in the room stays there. The first-meeting guide walks through a typical hour.

Transportation & Virtual Meetings

DART, the Des Moines Area Regional Transit Authority, runs the region's buses from DART Central Station downtown and serves Des Moines along with surrounding cities such as West Des Moines, Urbandale, Clive, Johnston, Ankeny, and Pleasant Hill. DART's family of services includes local and express routes and a free downtown LINK shuttle. Plan a trip at ridedart.com.

Meetings are not only in person. A.A. says meetings can be in person, online, or by phone, and the Central Office directory includes online meetings alongside in-person ones. The Online Intergroup lists phone and video meetings worldwide, and our meeting finder also shows online and hybrid meetings. The online A.A. meetings guide explains how they work.

Peer Support vs. Medical Care

An A.A. meeting is peer support, not clinical treatment. NIDA explains that mutual-help groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous are peer-led and not led by healthcare professionals, so they are not the same as treatment — though NIDA notes they are free, not time-limited, and useful to many people on their own or alongside professional care.

Some situations call for a doctor, not a meeting. NIAAA says alcohol withdrawal can be life threatening when people who drink heavily over time stop suddenly, rather than cutting back gradually or stopping with medical support. If you have been drinking heavily and want to stop, talk with a clinician first.

For help beyond a meeting:

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

Call or text (800) 653-9376 if you want help finding treatment. If what you need tonight is a meeting, start with the meeting finder or the Central Office directory and confirm the listing. If this is an emergency or a suicide crisis, call 911 or 988 first.

Additional Resources

Sources cited on this page:

• Des Moines AA Central Office & Intergroup (aadsmintergroup.org)
• Des Moines AA Central Office: Intergroup (24-hour hotline and services)
• Des Moines AA Central Office: Contact Us (address, phone, office hours)
• Des Moines Area Regional Transit Authority (DART): services
• A.A.: Find A.A. Near You (regional and online meeting information)
• 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.: Meeting Guide app
• Online Intergroup of Alcoholics Anonymous (online and phone meetings)
• 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