In the
early 1960s, a man named Jim James moved to Wichita,
Kansas. He was a World War II hero who came from a
successful Southern family. He was bright, handsome, and
an alcoholic. During the war he was introduced to
alcohol and it had a firm grip on him. He was looked on
as an insult to his family. His alcoholism stripped him
of everything he loved, and his alcoholism would take
him into more pain and degradation than he could ever
imagine.
It was then that he decided to sober up in a
California Alcoholics Anonymous halfway house. He
stayed for more than two years and became sober there.
He learned how to live and have friends again. He
learned how to save his life. When a friend he met in AA
told him of a good career in Wichita, Kansas, he decided
to take the opportunity.
He soon started a support group
with another alcoholic friend, holding meetings in their
apartment. This small group of struggling alcoholics
began to invite other men and women they found on the
streets to their AA meetings. They banded together,
supporting one another 24 hours a day.
From
this humble beginning, Wichita Fellowship Club grew.
Their purpose was to provide a safe, structured
environment for alcoholics to rehabilitate, reintegrate
and repair the damage done to themselves and their
families.
