On This Page - Welcome | Mission Statement | Onala Facilities

Onala… a friendly place where recovering individuals help each other.

For the recovering individual, Onala provides a convenient facility in which its members from all walks of life, join together with companionship and under-standing to help smooth out the rocky road of rehabilitation. Located in the West End of Pittsburgh at 1625 West Carson Street, just one mile west of Station Square. Members and patrons work together during that most critical phase of recovery; life after hospitalization for detoxification and/or treatment at a Rehabilitation Center.

While some recovering individuals can resume a normal life with the help of Recovery Programs alone, others feel the need for companionship in a social environment created by persons who have mutual problems. Onala is a non-profit organization and the oldest of the few permanent facilities in Pittsburgh to fill this vital role in the recovery process. It is just one of the many Onala Clubs located in major cities throughout the United States and is one of the largest facilities of its kind on the East Coast. An estimated 1600 persons use Onala each week. It is open during the day and the evening every day of the week.

Onala is an abbreviation of Alcoholics Anonymous, spelled backwards, AlAno. This was done to protect the anonymity of its members.

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To provide the community with a facility that offers an environment of recovery from Alcohol, Drug and other addictions through Education, Social Interaction and Fellowship.

Program Objectives • To provide a social environment which is free of drugs and alcohol for people who are in various stages of recovery. • To provide an atmosphere free of "peer pressure" to use drugs and alcohol. • To enhance the spiritual, social and economic welfare of the recovering community of Allegheny County. • To educate its members and prospective clientele on the disease of addiction. • To provide programs, activities and a meeting place for its members,their families and associates. • To provide a central meeting place where recovering people in the Pittsburgh metropolitan area can go for human support when needed. • To provide the out-of-town recovering person a drug and alcohol-free environment.

Onala has three meeting rooms of various sizes. All meetings are Non-smoking. Onala also has a rec room with video games and pool table, a small library, a large banquet room, which is used for dances and other special events, a full service kitchen and dining area, a recovery store, and a TV room.

Every newly recovering person faces problems they created, by omission or commission, while under the influence. One can discuss his or her specific concerns with others who have had to deal with similar problems…people who have resolved these problems and not returned to their previous patterns. Onala, is the forum in the Pittsburgh area for such discussions. Members gather at tables in the rooms. The coffeepot is always on. It is an informal place where newly recovering persons can socialize with those who can help counsel them in their recovery efforts and where they can find models who demonstrate that a life of recovery can be fulfilling and enjoyable.

In addition to these very important conversations, there are a wide variety of events in which members participate during the year. For example, these include holiday dinners, dances, picnics, big screen TV events, softball and bowling teams.