What Alateen Is

If you are a teenager and the drinking in your house decides the mood before you even speak, you are not supposed to carry that alone. Alateen is the meeting for you. It is part of Al-Anon Family Groups, a fellowship of young people, mostly teenagers, whose lives have been affected by someone else's drinking, whether that person is drinking now or not. You sit with other teens who know the feeling. There are no dues, and it is not a religious program.

If you are the parent reading this over their shoulder, this room is theirs, not yours. Your meeting is Al-Anon, often in the same building at the same hour. The parents' guide is your chair.

If a young person is being hurt, or is about to be hurt, call 911. Do not wait for the meeting. If they are in a mental health crisis, call or text 988.

How old, in the words they actually use

Meetings are open to teenagers. Some also welcome pre-teen children. That is the public note. There is no single nationwide age band, such as 12 to 18, printed on the newcomer page or the FAQ. A local group can be narrower. Read the listing. Ask the contact before you decide a 10-year-old or a 19-year-old belongs in that room.

You do not need an appointment or a note from a doctor. Same as Al-Anon: you can walk in.

The timeline puts the first Alateen meetings in California in 1956, and the first groups registered with the office in 1957. You do not need that history to take a chair. It only means this room has been around longer than a school club.

The adult who is there so you can talk

Teens do the sharing. An adult still has to be in the room, and that adult is not a counselor sent from school. Al-Anon calls them an Alateen Group Sponsor. The certification is Al-Anon Member Involved in Alateen Service, often shortened to AMIAS.

The minimums are plain. The sponsor is an active Al-Anon member, at least 21, with at least two years in Al-Anon beyond any time they spent in Alateen, and without a felony conviction or a child-abuse charge. Every area with Alateen has safety and behavioral requirements, and the area can ask for more. A group that wants the Alateen name follows its area's process.

The sponsor's job is to keep the meeting on the program and, as far as they can, protect members from physical and emotional harm. They are never supposed to belittle a parent or put themselves above a parent or guardian. The sponsorship leaflet asks whether the adult can let the teens run the meeting, and whether they can keep what a teen says from being repeated to parents or anyone else.

That privacy is the point. Sponsors do not share what is said in the meeting with a parent. If a parent asks, the sponsor is supposed to send the question back to the teen. If the parent asks outright whether the teen was there, the sponsor tells the truth. Covering is not part of the confidence.

There is one limit you should hear before you share something dangerous. Reporting laws differ by place. Where the law requires a report of harm to a child, the safety guidelines say the adult should talk with the area first and tell you what they intend, so you are not blindsided. They still do not hand your parent a recap of the meeting.

In 2000 the Conference recommended two sponsors at each group. If the regular sponsor cannot be there, the area's rules cover who can fill in. The adult has to be certified. Wanting to help is not the certification.

What you will hear

Members share what they have lived, so the effects of someone else's drinking take up less of the week. A member chairs. The topic might be a Step, a slogan, or just what happened since last time. A professional does not run it.

The same hard sentence the adults hear shows up here. You did not cause it. You cannot control it. You cannot cure it. Scolding and silence do not force another person to stop. For a teen that can land as relief and as anger in the same night. Both belong in the room. Nobody is assigned to fix your parent.

Books written for this age are a separate shelf. The literature guide names Alateen, Hope for Children of Alcoholics, plus the two daily readers. You do not need one to walk in. Groups usually have a few pieces on the table.

Finding one tonight

Open the Alateen meeting search. The finder guide explains the adult search, and the meetings page on this website lists AA and NA, not Alateen. Those Alateen listings change, and they carry safety rules a copied list would get wrong.

The meeting line, 1-888-4AL-ANON (1-888-425-2666), covers the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It finds meetings. It is not a crisis line.

If the search is empty, a 1989 change to the service manual encourages teens to attend Al-Anon where no Alateen meeting is available. Call the group first. A general adult meeting, including an easy online link, can be the wrong room for a 13-year-old. Phone and video for adults are explained on Al-Anon meetings online. Use the Alateen listing when the meeting is supposed to be for teens.

Some schools host a group. A school meeting still has to meet the area's safety requirements, including a certified sponsor. A teacher who cares is not automatically an AMIAS.

Call or text (800) 653-9376 if a parent needs help finding treatment for a drinking problem of their own. That number is SmarterRecovery. It does not register an Alateen group.

Additional Resources

Sources cited on this page:

• Al-Anon Family Groups: What is Al-Anon and Alateen?
• Al-Anon Family Groups: FAQ for newcomers
• Al-Anon Family Groups: Alateen information for professionals
• Al-Anon Family Groups: Alateen Safety Guidelines (G-34)
• Al-Anon Family Groups: Alateen Sponsorship, Is It for You? (S-27)
• Al-Anon Family Groups: Alateen Service e-Manual
• Al-Anon Family Groups: Find an Alateen meeting
• Al-Anon Family Groups: Al-Anon timeline
• 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline

Common Questions