What is a sponsor?
“A sponsor is a person in the fellowship who acts as a guide to working the program of SAA – a fellow addict we can rely upon for support. Ideally, a sponsor is abstinent from addictive sexual behavior, has worked the steps, and can teach us what he or she has learned from working the program. We can learn from a sponsor’s experience, struggles, successes, and mistakes. […] Most importantly, sponsors guide us through the Twelve Steps.” SAA Green Book p. 13
What does a sponsor do?
Sponsors:
- Make a commitment to using their time to help another suffering addict
- Are a guide through the Steps
- Help to identify a person’s compulsive behaviours
- Suggest tools to help someone become some or maintain that sobriety
- Are human, and have lives and a recovery program too
What can a sponsee do?
Sponsees:
- Commit to the program of recovery
- Work hard to face their addiction
- Contact other recovering sex addicts
- Go to meetings
- Use other tools
More information around the world
SAA groups around the world have their own websites with information about sponsorship, here are a few of them:
New York SAA
SAA Big Book group
SAA Milwaukee
SAA international website
Find more groups from the list on the International website
Find a sponsor
The best way to find a sponsor is through outreach, at meetings or asking committees and intergroups for assistance to find a sponsor.
Often potential sponsors will add their names to a list and can be contacted. These sponsors are able to sponsor but may not be available. To find a sponsor try to speak to lots of people – ask them about their sobriety and what their program is – when you find someone who has what you want, ask them to be your sponsor.
Available sponsors will not offer to sponsor you. It is important that newcomers have the space to choose for themselves without feeling pressured by a well-meaning person.
It does mean that newcomers need to be brave, ask questions and ask for help.
“A sponsor is a person in the fellowship who acts as a guide to working the program of SAA – a fellow addict we can rely upon for support. Ideally, a sponsor is abstinent from addictive sexual behavior, has worked the steps, and can teach us what he or she has learned from working the program. We can learn from a sponsor’s experience, struggles, successes, and mistakes. […] Most importantly, sponsors guide us through the Twelve Steps.”
Sex Addicts Anonymous, p. 13
Read about sponsorship
- Getting a Sponsor pamphlet
- A Special Welcome to the Woman Newcomer pamphlet includes a section on finding a sponsor
- SAA Booklet: Tools of Recovery contains a section on Sponsorship
- Our Fellowship, Chapter Two, p13-14 in SAA Green Book
- “A Phone Call Saved Her Life,” Story 2, p114 SAA Green Book
The literature is free online and can be bought from in-person meetings, and online SAA shops eg United States, Australia, UK.
Lists of sponsors
The Grace list contains names of those who can sponsor, email grace@saa-women.org
Your local Intergroup could help you find a sponsor.
The SAA Green Book says, “It is recommended that we don’t enter into a sponsorship relationship with anyone we are attracted to sexually …”. For some women this means not outreaching or being sponsored by straight men until they are stronger in their sobriety.
Mixed sponsorship
- SAA Telemeeting Intergroup Contact List (mixed gender) only available to members of the saatalk.org website.
- Intimacy and Sexual Avoidance Awareness Committee (ISAAC) contact ISAAC by emailing Avoidance@saa-recovery.org.
- LGBT Outreach Committee’s Outreach Support List contact lgbt@saa-recovery.org or glbt@saa-recovery.org to receive the sponsor contact list.
- The LGBTQ Outreach Committee also hold several LGBTQ+ Newcomers Workshops during the year.
- The Prisoner Outreach Committee offers assistance to those who are in prison. Contact ISO Office for information in the USA or your local Intergroup.
- DC Metro Sponsors Roundtable: Every other Tuesday, 7:30 pm EST
Zoom ID: 125 739 743
Password: 123456
“Dear Grace” articles on sponsorship:
- Why We Need Sponsors, page 6, Outer Circle, November – December 2019
- Do I Have to Listen to My Sponsor?, page 12, Outer Circle July – August 2015
- Finding, Asking for Sponsorship is Key to Sobriety, page 12, Outer Circle for May – June 2015
- Are Sponsors Always Right?, page 12, Outer Circle March- April 2015
A meeting for support- Sponsors helping sponsors
Sponsors Helping Sponsors is a weekly discussion group and meeting for those who are, or hope to be, a sponsor.
Sponsors practice a program of recovery and when sober they share that program with newcomers. If it can keep one person sober, it could do the same for someone else. There is no training to be a sponsor. Sponsors may want support to find tools, advise sponsees on how to work the steps. At this stage of their recovery sponsors will have a strong connection with their Higher Power to guide them in their words and actions with sponsees. They will also have built up a network of other recovering addicts who they can speak to.
The Sponsors Helping Sponsors (SHS) meeting and discussion group provides a safe space to ask questions and hear the experience of others. Sponsees are not named, and their situations are not discussed. This meeting practices anonymity of for everyone.
The meeting is every Thursday at 11am EST. Telemeeting details held on saatalk.info
The meetings are recorded, and available to all email for more information. SAASponsorsHelpingSponsors@gmail.com
SHS has […] a list (and links) covering over 20 months of our weekly audio recordings made during the “Sponsors Helping Sponsors” SAA Zoom meeting held every Thursday morning. These recordings are available [to members, and] are also listed on our meeting page on saatalk.info. [An] updated list via email of the recordings each month is also availableFrom Sponsors Helping Sponsors announcement, August 2021