Narcotics Anonymous Breakfast

Sunday May 30th is the Annual Narcotics Anonymous Men’s Breakfast put on by the East Bay Central NA committee. This will be the 10th annual breakfast and 350 men from around the country are expected to attend.

The Father Alfred Center has had a proud affiliation with the men’s breakfast since it was started back in 2000. A resident of the St Anthony Foundation Rehabilitation Center (then known as Seton Hall), named Darryl Smith painted the very first banner. The banner and that first breakfast were a big success and every year a handful of tickets are donated by alumni of Father Alfred Center, to some of our current residents. As part of the decorations that first banner (along with every banner since then) are rolled out and hung up for display.

This years theme is “Vision with out limits”. It appears on the banner as well as on tickets next to the Men’s Breakfast Motto “Diversity Makes a Difference”. The motto represents the variety of men from every walk of life, ethnicity, and social status who can be found in attendance. The exchange of experiences and the formations of friendships are the hallmark of the NA Men’s Breakfast.

Along with what I am told is an impressive spread of food, speakers from around the country are flown in to talk on the subject of recovery. As they speak a CD is cut for purchase. Some copies of the CD along with books and other Narcotics Anonymous literature are given away to those in attendance who are newest to recovery.

For the first 8 years of the Breakfast up to 500+ men would be in attendance. As N/A members from other area’s have attended the men’s breakfast and experienced the miracle that takes place there, they have begun putting on their own versions. So although the number of participants has dropped in the last two years, the phenomenon is growing.