DYPCAA: What is a Young People's Conference?

2008 Downingtown Young People's Conference *We Are Not A Glum Lot* ~ OUR 31st Annual ~ Friday, October 31 to Sunday, November 2, 2008

Home What is a Young People's Conference? 2008 Registration Form World's Best Halloween Dance Where is DYPC Held? Lodging Information Driving Directions Join the Committee (coming soon) 2007 Dance Flyer	What is a Young People's Conference? Alcoholism recognizes no barriers, age included. The first Young People's Groups (YPG's) in Alcoholics Anonymous appeared in 1945 in Los Angeles and Philadelphia.

	At the 1960 AA Convention, Bill W. noted that the age of new members was much lower than when he and Dr. Bob founded AA 25 years earlier. A 1975 ICYPAA pamphlet described the people in YPG's as in their twenties and thirties, with some teenagers. This trend has continued.

	A 1989 AA survey reported that 30% of the respondents were under 40 years of age and that 3% were under 21 years of age. The number of young people suffering alcoholism who turn to AA for help is growing and the purpose of YPG's, just as it has been for many years, is to carry AA's message of recovery to alcoholics no matter what their age. YPG's provide young newcomers with a meeting where they can see and share the experience of sobriety with other young people. YPG's try to make the newcomer understand that 20-plus years of drinking coupled with the loss of family, friends, and finances are not necessary for one to be ready for sobriety. YPG's bring the newcomer into the mainstream of AA Recovery, Service, and Unity through the 12 steps and the 12 traditions.
	*YPG's are in no way separate from Alcoholics Anonymous as a whole!* Newcomers are shown, by people their own age, that using AA principles in their daily lives and getting involved in AA service can leads to a lasting and comfortable sobriety.
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