Akron, Ohio: The Birthplace of Addiction Recovery
The City of Akron, Ohio, is known for many things. Your grandparents or great-grandparents might have known it at the Rubber Capital of the World. Goodyear Tire and Rubber made its start here. Even our minor league baseball team is called The Akron Rubber Ducks.
But, when it comes to addiction treatment, Akron has a very special place in history. It was right here in 1935 that the 12-step recovery movement as we know it was born. Alcoholics Anonymous began in Akron when a New York stockbroker named Bill Wilson, still reeling from the stock market crash of 1929, and Dr. Bob Wilson, a local surgeon, met serendipitously.
How Addiction Help was Born in Akron, OH
It’s easy to forget now what things were like before the 12-step movement and the disease model of alcoholism and addiction became commonplace. After all, it’s been nearly 100 years. But the reality is, before then, addiction was seen as a failure of willpower and moral shortfalling. People who were addicted to opioids, alcohol, or other drugs were seen as hopeless.
A few found their way out, whether through religion, circumstances, or necessity. But for many, addiction was a death sentence carried out in slow motion. That is, until the two men who founded Alcoholics Anonymous and a third man, Dr. William Silkworth of New York City’s Towns Hospital, found each other.
Bill Wilson met Dr. Bob Smith in a moment of weakness on Mother’s Day in 1935. Bill was newly sober and visiting from New York. He felt a momentary craving for alcohol when he walked past the bar in the Mayflower Hotel in Akron, where he was staying on a business trip.
Helping Others with Addiction to Help Ourselve
Eager to hold onto his recovery, Bill remembered the words of his faithful wife, Lois. She suggested that he had managed to stay sober so far, in large part by helping other people addicted to alcohol! So, Bill made his way to a phone booth in the lobby of Akon’s Mayflower Hotel.
He called a number of local churches, looking for a person addicted to alcohol to help. Eventually he was referred to Dr. Bob Smith in Akron and paid him a visit. The two men got to talking and Bill was able to get through to Dr. Bob in a way that no one else yet had. That’s the magic of one person with addiction helping another. That simple idea still works today, nearly a century later.
The Mayflower Hotel still stands today at 263 S Main St, Akron, OH 44308. Though today, the same building holds apartment units, if you’re in Akron, you can visit the very place where the seeds of the 12-step recovery movement first sprouted.
Help for People Struggling With Addiction in Akron, OH
Even if you or someone you love seems beyond help—-there are good reasons for hope. Ohio has some of the best addiction treatment programs in the country. Whether it’s you or someone you love who is struggling with an addiction to drugs and alcohol, help is just a click or a phone call away at (419) 949-8358
Check to see what addiction treatment your insurance covers here.
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