Alcoholics Anonymous

American addiction recovery organization founded by Bill Wilson and Bob Smith in 1935 — whose twelve-step program and mutual aid model became the dominant framework for addiction recovery globally, operating through an estimated 123,000 groups in 180+ countries.

Created the peer support mutual aid model for addiction recovery — one alcoholic helping another — which proved more effective than medical approaches of its era and has been adapted for every addiction type and many non-addiction compulsive behaviors.