Like most other organizations, two local self-help groups, North Shores Alano Club and God’s Garage in Pacific Beach, have both gone virtual with their 12-step meetings.
“We are closed to the public right now, though the club is usually open to paid members who can come in and hang out,” said an anonymous spokesperson for the Alano Club at 4861 Cass St. “We can no longer have in-person meetings because we just have one big room, and we are observing social-distancing requirements.”
Added the North Shores Alano Club spokesperson, “We are now providing virtual meetings with a Zoom platform.”
Pastor David Nagler of Christ Lutheran Church, which oversees God’s Garage at 4811 Cass St., said 12-step, self-help groups meet there including Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, and Heroin Anonymous. One of the well-known groups meeting there is the Dawn Patrol, which meets at 7:30 a.m.
“Those groups are not meeting right now in-person,” said Nagler. “We were very concerned because we didn’t want people to be out of their meetings. So we left it to the leaders of each group to decide if they would meet if they could provide practical, safe social distancing, though most of the groups now are meeting online.”
Noted Nagler: “From my perspective, it’s a fragile time for people with addictions or mental illness. We’ve heard of some people who’ve had relapses. If anyone wants to call us up, we can help get them to an online meeting.”
God’s Garage is on property owned by the church, which rents it out to different self-help groups.