Alumni Programs and Support

Alumni Outreach

We follow up with our alumni to ensure that they are doing well and living healthy lives in their recovery. Alumni meet with our Alumni Relations Coordinator prior to leaving High Watch. This meeting is essential as it is the final step in introducing our guests to our supportive and extensive alumni community.

In addition, our alumni team reaches out to our former guests at set intervals following their discharge. Former guests will hear from us for no less than the first year after leaving High Watch. We are dedicated to ensuring that our former guests are successful in their recovery long after leaving campus.

Transitions Programs

  • When: Every Thursday at 6PM
  • Where: Conference Room

One of the most beneficial elements of residential treatment has always been that guests are able to process highs and lows while in a safe, supportive environment. The care you receive at High Watch does not end upon discharge. The transfer back to “the real world” can be overwhelming and we are here to support you during this time. There’s something uniquely therapeutic about reconnecting with the peers with whom you shared your High Watch experience and we want those bonds to flourish after you leave.

“Transitions” is a weekly meeting that gives every guest an opportunity to return to High Watch and discuss how they are coping with their return to life outside of treatment. Alumni Relations Coordinator Jenn Dunleavy guides this open-forum discussion where former guests are free to discuss anything that’s on their minds. Guests are encouraged to share the challenges and victories of adjusting back to daily living after High Watch, as they are most likely situations everyone else in the room can relate to. Common topics include shifting family dynamics, sponsorship, meeting attendance, employment progress, sober living concerns, boundary setting and creating structure.

Alumni are welcome back for Transitions every week for as long as they’d like. There is no requirement on how long a guest must wait before attending; you are welcome back immediately following your discharge. There will be pizza and refreshments offered in the beginning of the meeting which typically ends between 8pm and 8:30pm.

 
 

Friday Night Speaker Meeting

  • Where: The High Watch Barn
  • When: Every Friday, 7:30PM

Our Friday night meetings are now open to the public! This means that anyone in the recovery community, including new alumni, can attend. Alumni can participate after 30 days. All speakers at this meeting are members of the High Watch staff, each of whom have a unique perspective on recovery. Join us as they share their experiences, strength and hope.

Saturday Night Dinner & AA Meeting

  • When: Every Saturday Evening
    • Dinner: 5:45PM
    • Meeting: 7:30PM
  • Where: The High Watch Barn

For over 75 years, High Watch Farm has celebrated the fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous by hosting the Saturday evening dinner followed by a three-speaker meeting. Originally started by Sister Francis in the 1940’s, this weekly tradition has served as an opportunity for current guests, families, alumni and fellow friends of Bill W. to spend time together over a delicious meal prepared by the superb High Watch kitchen staff. The meeting following the dinner allows guest speakers from various communities of AA to share their experience, strength and hope with new-comers and old-timers alike.

As an alumnus, you are welcomed and encouraged to return for both the meal and the meeting beginning 30 days after your discharge date.

Each dinner ticket is a $20 donation. All proceeds go toward maintaining both the spiritual and physical foundation of High Watch.

As you know, dinner space is limited. Please call as early in advance as possible to insure your party has seats. If there is no availability, you are still free to attend the AA meeting at 7:30pm.

 
 

Tuesday Night Ask It Basket

  • Where: The Barn at High Watch
  • When: Every Tuesday, 7:30-8:30PM

After a brief hiatus, High Watch has decided to make the Tuesday Night Ask It Basket meeting open to the public again! This means that anyone with a desire to stop drinking can attend and it is not limited to just guests and alumni. Alumni can participate after 30 days. Join us every Tuesday evening from 7:30pm to 8:30pm for a speaker meeting followed by open discussion. This meeting offers the unique opportunity to anonymously ask the guest speaker questions pertaining to their story and recovery.

Attending new AA meetings fresh out of treatment can sometimes feel intimidating and scary so this is also an opportunity to bridge the gap between your stay at High Watch and the world of Alcoholics Anonymous. It’s quite empowering to attend a meeting on the Hill of Hope followed by getting in your car to go home as opposed to heading back to your dorm.

Click this link to email our Alumni Relations Coordinator, Jenn Dunleavy, for more information on any of the above programs.