AA Meetings San Mateo, CA

Recovery Support in San Mateo, CA Beyond Meetings

This directory lists 31 AA meetings in San Mateo, CA at 18 venues. 13 of them meet online. AA meetings are free and Alcoholics Anonymous is self supporting, so there is no fee, no insurance check, and no intake form. AA is not treatment and does not provide detox, medical care, or housing. Those are separate services, and knowing which is which is the difference between getting the right help and getting none.

What kinds of alcohol support are there in California?

Five things are commonly confused with each other. They differ in who supervises them, whether you live there, and how they are paid for.

Is it safe to stop drinking without medical help?

Not always, and this is the one thing on this page worth reading twice. Stopping suddenly after heavy daily drinking can cause withdrawal that ranges from uncomfortable to genuinely dangerous, which is why medically supervised detox exists as a service distinct from counselling or rehab. If you drink heavily every day, the safe order is to speak to a doctor or a withdrawal service first, then use meetings to hold the ground you gain. This is the published position of SAMHSA, not advice from this directory.

What is a sober living home and who is it for?

Sober living homes and recovery residences are shared homes where everyone living there is staying sober, usually with house rules, curfews, and required meeting attendance. It is housing, not treatment, and not medical care. People commonly move in after residential treatment, or when going home would mean returning to the circumstances the drinking grew in. Residents in California typically attend local AA meetings as part of the house agreement, which is where a schedule like the one on this page stops being abstract.

Where can I get free and confidential help now?

If you would rather speak to somebody today than read further, these are free, confidential, and not run by this site:

• SAMHSA National Helpline, 1-800-662-4357. Free and confidential, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, in English and Spanish.
• FindTreatment.gov, to search services by location and by what you can pay.
• Emergency and crisis contacts if the situation is urgent right now.

Service details verified against SAMHSA on September 13, 2026. The AA Directory lists meetings. It does not run, recommend, rank, or take payment from any treatment provider, sober living home operator, or detox service, and it has no affiliation with the groups whose meetings it lists. Anything described above that is not an AA meeting is here so you know it exists, not because it is being suggested to you.