Orange County
Hospitals & Institutions
Welcome to the Orange County H&I Committee Website
Who We Are
The Orange County H&I Committee is an independent Ninth Tradition service committee of Alcoholics Anonymous®. We are comprised of hundreds of volunteers throughout Northern Orange County who bring meetings into the facilities we serve.
Our Purpose
The purpose of Orange County Hospitals and Institutions Committee (H&I) is to carry the message of Alcoholics Anonymous® to the alcoholic who is confined in a hospital or institution. H & I is a service committee as defined in the Ninth Tradition of Alcoholics Anonymous®; “AA, as such, ought never be organized; but we may create service boards or committees directly responsible to those they serve.” H&I’s charter is stated in AA’s Fifth Tradition; “Each group has but one primary purpose – to carry its message to the alcoholic who still suffers.”
It is an illustration that was done by a Grapevine volunteer illustrator and presented to Bill W. in 1955. It is a depiction of that first visit to St. Thomas hospital in Akron, where Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob talked to Bill D. – AA #3. When Bill W. received this picture, he said this illustration CAPTURED THE ESSENCE OF AA.
Our History
In 1942, Warden Duffy at San Quentin State Prison noticed that 80% of the prisoners released ended up back in prison, and that alcohol was usually a contributing factor. He was aware of a group called Alcoholics Anonymous® who claimed recovery from alcoholism, and invited them into San Quentin to hold meetings with the inmates. Thus H&I was born in Northern CA and San Quentin Group #1 became the first group in the Hospital and Institution Committee