Alcoholics Victorious was founded in 1948 as a support group to offer a safe environment where recovering people who recognize Jesus Christ as their “higher power” gather and share their experience, strength and hope. AV meetings use both the 12 steps and the Alcoholics Victorious Creed.

The Rev. Daniel Groody is an associate professor of theology and global affairs at the University of Notre Dame and director of the global leadership program within the university’s Kellogg Institute for International Studies. He is an expert on migration and refugee issues and has consulted for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Congress and […]

The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University in New York City is an interdisciplinary research and educational organization founded in 1992 by Joseph Califano, former U.S. secretary of health, education and welfare and drug “czar.” With a staff of 70, its expertise spans addiction and substance abuse, public policy, criminology, psychology, public health, […]

The American Society of Addiction Medicine in Chevy Chase, Md., is an organization of physicians trained in addiction medicine. The organization is focused on increasing access to addiction treatment and improving it. It runs a yearly scientific meeting and certifies physicians in addiction medicine.

Alcoholics Anonymous is the parent of all 12-step, self-help recovery groups. Founded by the late stockbroker William G. Wilson and physician Robert H. Smith, its principles for recovery from addiction are based on 12 steps, which include the acknowledgment of a “higher power,” meeting attendance and peer sponsorship. AA’s worldwide membership is 2 million.

Ruben Martinez is a writer, performer and teacher and the son of immigrants — his father is from Mexico, and his mother from El Salvador. Martinez is the author of The New Americans, which tells the stories of seven immigrant families and is the companion book to a PBS series on immigration from 2003. He also wrote Crossing […]

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services deals with substance abuse and mental health issues together. Its mission is to build resilience and facilitate recovery for people with or at risk for substance abuse and mental illness. It provides more than $1.6 billion to support states’ efforts […]

Read a 2005 Science Direct Study that found spirituality and mindfulness effective treatments of disorders and addictions.

The Rev. Harold Recinos is a professor of church and society at Southern Methodist University’s Perkins School of Theology in Dallas. He has worked with immigrants in the United States and abroad and studies issues related to immigrants and refugees in the United States.