Answering Service Guide

ROCKLAND COUNTY INTERGROUP AA ANSWERING SERVICE GUIDE VOLUNTEER GUIDE

Please contact the answering service chairperson using the contact form at the bottom of this page if you have questions or concerns.

1. Add the aahotline phone number to your Contacts: (845) 352-1112.
2. Record the date and time of your answering service commitment in your calendar and set an alert. We do not want to miss any of these 12th Step opportunities.
3. Incoming calls from the hotline will be directly connected to your phone from the aahotline phone number, (845) 352-1112.
4. ANSWER your telephone and PRESS 1 to accept the call.
5. Identify yourself by first name only when answering your phone and confirm that the caller has reached the Rockland County aahotline.
6. If you have a non-alcoholic on the phone seeking information for professional reasons, refer them to the Public Information committee email at: aainfo@rocklandnyaa.org
7. You may also find it beneficial to keep a current meeting list by the phone to help a caller find a meeting near them. If you don’t have one handy you can always use the online list at: https://rocklandnyaa.org/meetings/ Tell the caller about our website so they can also find a meeting for themselves.
8. Be courteous and compassionate but establish as soon as you can whether the person calling is the person who WANTS HELP FOR THEMSELVES in accordance with our primary purpose. If not, the party should be referred to the appropriate numbers, as necessary (see Referral Numbers on page 2).
9. You should not have to talk to the person for more than 5 or 10 minutes before you can establish the best way to be of service.
10. If the party is threatening suicide, try to keep the conversation going and calm the party down. Keep talking and try to get the location and description of the threatening party. If possible, try to call the police on another line or by another means. If that is not possible, make an excuse to hang up to answer the door or go to the bathroom and call the police as soon as you hang up. Then call the person back and keep him/her on the line until the police.
11. In general, do not process a call unless it is from an alcoholic who wants help. Refer all other callers politely to one of the other appropriate numbers on the lists.

REFERRAL PHONE NUMBERS

POLICE DEPARTMENTS

• Clarkstown 845-639-5800
• Haverstraw (Town) 845-354-1500
• Haverstraw (Village) 845-429-5711
• Nyack/South Village 845-358-0206
• Orangetown 845-359-3700
• Piermont 845-359-0240
• Ramapo 845-357-2400
• Spring Valley 845-356-7400
• Stony Point 845-786-2422
• Suffern 845-357-2300
• Sheriff’s Patrol 845-638-5400
• State Police (Nyack area) 845-353-1100
• Palisades Parkway Police 845-786-2781

HOSPITALS

• Good Samaritan – Alcohol Clinic 845-368-5075
• Nyack Recovery Center 845-348-2070
• Blaisdell Addiction Treatment Center 845-359-8500

AA ANSWERING SERVICES & WEB SITES IN OTHER AREAS

(Please note – Links to external sites are furnished as resources but do not necessarily indicate endorsement by RCI)

• InterGroup New York https://www.nyintergroup.org/meetings/
• Bergen County, NJ 908-687-8566
• Nassau County (Long Island) 516-292-3040
• New York City 212-647-1680
• Queens 718-520-5021
• Brooklyn Intergroup 718-339-4777
• Suffolk County (Long Island) 631-654-1150
• Ulster County 845-331-6360
• Albany 800-252-6465
• Orange County 845-534-8525
• Sullivan County 845-234-4841

ALANON

Rockland 845-727-2050

www.rockland-al-anon.org

IMPORTANT PHONE INFORMATION

There is no need to block your phone number. The callers will only see the aahotline phone number (845) 352-1112.

Click the button for a printable copy of this page.

Answering Service Guide (PDF)