About
Nearly fifty years of open doors.
The White House Alano Club has been a gathering place for recovery in Des Moines since 1977. We're not a treatment center — we're a room with coffee, chairs, and people who understand.
Why AA
Alcoholics Anonymous is a fellowship of people who come together to solve their drinking problem. It doesn’t cost anything to attend A.A. meetings. There are no age or education requirements to participate. Membership is open to anyone who wants to do something about their drinking problem.
A.A.’s primary purpose is to help alcoholics to achieve sobriety.
Why the White House
Recovery doesn't happen in isolation. It happens in rooms — real, physical rooms where people show up, sit down, and tell the truth.
The White House exists so that those rooms are always available. Every day of the week, someone can walk through the door at 1400 Pennsylvania Avenue and find a meeting in progress, a pot of coffee on, and people who have been exactly where they are.
A promise to one another
“I am responsible, when anyone, anywhere, reaches out for help, I want the hand of AA always to be there, and for that I am responsible.”
Alcoholics Anonymous Responsibility StatementWhat Make Us Stand Out
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A clubhouse, not a clinic
We are a nonprofit community club — not a treatment center, not a hospital, not a rehab facility. We maintain a building where people in recovery can gather, meet, and support each other in a clean, sober environment.
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Run by its members
The White House operates entirely through voluntary contributions and labor. No outside funding, no corporate sponsors, no government grants. Every dollar and every hour comes from the people this place serves.
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Open since 1977
For nearly fifty years, this building at 1400 Pennsylvania Avenue has been home to AA meetings, Al‑Anon Family Groups, Saturday night Bingo, speaker nights, potlucks, and the kind of fellowship that keeps people coming back.