History of the Wee Are Here Area
The Wee Are Here Area of Narcotics Anonymous was formed in 2004 by a group of members who wanted to bring NA events to their local area, to have NA literature available locally, and to have the ability to purchase materials from NA World Services. Our first NA meeting started in 1994, however, over time several of our members had felt that their voice was not being heard within the closest Area Service Committee.
So, we started our own.
At first, the members of our newly forged area met in the basement of a home. Eventually, we moved to a larger location in Athens Township as our area added new meetings. Outreach was the first committee we formed. Our members covered a 50 mile radius to inform others of the services they could bring to the area. Starting with just $100.00 (which was loaned by a single member), we created a Literature Committee and began purchasing materials from NA World Services to support our local groups. A Treasurer position was formed and a bank account for our area was opened. Using the 7th Tradition baskets that we passed around in meetings, the money was paid back quickly, and our area was on it’s way. We reviewed guidelines written by other NA Area Service Committees and utilized those guidelines to create a structure which would best fit our area. These were submitted to the local groups and approval came back for the establishment for our first set of guidelines.
Our primary purpose is to “carry the message”.
We do that by adhering to the 12 Steps and the 12 Traditions
of Narcotics Anonymous, along with the 12 Concepts for NA Service.
We got our name after a lengthy discussion of the boundaries of the area. One member brought up the concept of mall maps and the marker which points out that “You Are Here”. It was this idea that was adapted into the title the “Wee Area Here Area”.
In no time we were hosting events! Dances, snow tubing, ice fishing, 4th Step workshops, and an annual Halloween party were the first events that we held. As the years have passed, more events have been established and more local meetings has been started to meet the needs of our growing fellowship. We continue to experience new opportunities to carry the message throughout our area.
We started with just 10 local meetings in 2004. Celebrating our 15th year as a fellowship, we have grown to have 26 meetings within our area. We now cover a geographic region (just north of the Twin Cities) which covers all (or part of) 6 six counties within Minnesota and even parts of western Wisconsin.
One of the dreams for our area was to create a camping event for our fellowship. In 2009, the Living Clean Camp Out was started.
We continue to come together in unity, to grow as a fellowship, and to work towards our primary purpose.
The source of this information came from a document made available at the January 2019 WAHA Annual Assembly pertaining to the History of the Wee Are Here Area.