Preserving the life-saving message of Narcotics Anonymous by archiving and sharing its history

Preserving the Message: A History and Introduction

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by

Chris Budnick

in

“When you know your history, you know your value. You know the price that has been paid for you to be here. You recognize what those who came before you built and sacrificed for you to inhabit the space in which you dwell.” Cicely Tyson

Just As I Am: A Memoir © 2021

The Preserving the Message website has been years in the making.  It is “built” upon the service of those interested in NA history who “came before.”  Those who did not have the convenience of the internet.  Those who had to go to physical archives and used librarians and archivists as navigators (i.e., see here).  Those who had to pay long-distance charges to place phone calls outside of their area.  Those who did not have the convenience of searchable PDFs or evolving AI technologies to summarize vast amounts of information in seconds. 

Preserving the Message stands upon and acknowledges the immense service provided through other websites and social media platforms: Carry The Message, CPRNA, Decades Clean, IDradiofreena, Listen to Recovery, Loving Our Long Timers, NArchive, Upper Cumberland Area.

Sign for the room the initial group met in, in Naples FL. Houston S Historical Society 6pm - South Center

In 2017, a small group gathered in Naples, FL to discuss the future of the research, preservation, and presentation of the history of Narcotics Anonymous.  The group first watched “A Reverence for History” featuring Dr. Ernie Kurtz.  This was followed by William White’s presentation titled Historical Preservation within American Addiction Recovery Mutual Aid Organizations (audio, slides, and discussion guide).  The video and presentation were invaluable for setting the stage for the weekend’s discussions.

Following a visioning session, small groups met on three general topic areas:

  1. Creating a website to serve as a central repository of NA history-related documents;
  2. Engaging the fellowship in the preservation of NA history; and
  3. Developing a governance structure for NA history preservation and presentation.

Some work continued following the weekend, but collective efforts ultimately faded.  Interestingly, it was the global pandemic that revived a collective effort to create a website.  The ability of the NA fellowship to quickly pivot to Zoom at the onset of COVID connected the fellowship in a new way.  History focused events were hosted over Zoom.  One event, in particular, is responsible for the Preserving the Message website.

On September 19, 2020, the History Lovers’ Workshop was held on Zoom and included panels featuring those involved with NA history around the globe.  Panelists included individuals from Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, France, Ireland, New Zealand, Russia, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United States.  The planning meetings for this workshop and debrief meetings afterwards revealed the breadth of global interest in NA history, a collective interest in the preservation of NA history, and a new method for collaboration in response to the pandemic.

A lot of service has occurred since the History Lovers’ Workshop.  A volunteer led the committee through a website product vision and roadmap process.  An outcome of this process was answers to the following questions:

  1. What is the purpose of the website?

PreservingTheMessage.org is a resource for anyone who wants:

  • Information on the history of Narcotics Anonymous.
  • To learn archival skills and techniques.
  • A repository for Zonal, Regional, Metro, Area, group, and member archives.
  • To collaborate on NA history research projects.
  1. How will the purpose be achieved?

PreservingTheMessage.org does this by providing:

  • Access to a curated, searchable library of documents, images, and media files that are open to the public.
  • Resources to educate, guide, and promote the preservation of NA history.
  • Opportunities for collaboration.

After further discussion it was decided that Preserving the Message should incorporate and pursue a 501(c)(3) designation.  There are a number of reasons why this course was taken as opposed to remaining an informal group.  First, we believe, Preserving the Message will become a primary source for information about the history of Narcotics Anonymous.  This will require resources and becoming a 501(c)(3) nonprofit will make Preserving the Message eligible for grants and charitable contributions.  Second, to assure that the content remains available for generations to come, we want the responsibility for them to rest with a group with shared values and agreements as opposed to any one individual.

In early 2022, Preserving the Message was incorporated and in 2023 received its 501(c)(3) designation.  And in 2024, the tech committee has gotten the website to a state that it is ready to go live.

A lot of the content on the website at the time of this launch comes from Motorcycle Ed.  Motorcycle Ed’s story and how his archives came to be digitized will be told in the next blog.  We hope it will describe a vision for the Preserving the Message website.