In the 1930's, Bill W and Dr Bob, two alcoholics, discovered that if they shared their alcoholism with each other, they could recover.  They found that one of the best resources an addict has for recovery is fellowship with other addicts.  People who understand.  Over time and through hard work, other alcoholics began to join Bill and Bob and the basic fellowship grew.  Alcoholics Anonymous was born, and with it, the 12-steps.

Since its birth, A.A. has helped literally millions of alcoholics, who were in despair and some even facing death.  Millions of people who have had meaning, purpose, and peace restored to their lives.  A.A. accomplished this monumental task with the open fellowship of addicts with one another and the 12-steps that have become known as "the program."  Those steps are as follows: 

  1. We admitted we were powerless over alcohol - that our lives had become unmanageable
  2. Came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity
  3. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God, as we understood God
  4. Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves
  5. Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs
  6. Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character
  7. Humbly asked God to remove our shortcomings
  8. Made a list of all persons we had harmed and became willing to make amends to them all
  9. Made direct amends to such people, except when to do so would injure them or others
  10. Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong, promptly admitted it
  11. Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God, as we understood God, praying only for the knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out
  12. Having had a spiritual awakening as a result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to other alcoholics and to practice these principles in our lives

Over time, the founders of A.A. began to see the importance of anonymity to the fellowship, because anonymity not only creates a safe environment in meetings where one can attend without fear of being known, it also levels the field.  Everyone is an equal in a 12-step meeting.

A time later, people saw the success of A.A. with the 12-steps and began to wonder whether or not those steps and that approach could work for their maladies.  Many did not have issues with alcohol, and instead had problems with sex, drugs, gambling, etc.  These people adopted the 12-steps from A.A. for their use and more 12-step recovery programs such as Sex Addicts Anonymous and Gamblers Anonymous were born.  This site was created to help sex addicts find their way into a sexual addiction recovery program and does not identify with, nor is sponsored by any single fellowship.  This site is created by, funded by and maintained by the community as a resource for those seeking help in the Kansas City area.

See the next article for a breakdown on each sex addict recovery program that exists in Kansas City.