Abraham Low Self Help Systems

The mission of Abraham Low Self-Help Systems is to use the cognitive-behavioral, peer-to-peer, self-help training system developed by Abraham Low, MD, to help individuals gain skills to lead more peaceful and productive lives.

Abraham Low Self-Help Systems is a merger of Recovery International and The Abraham Low Institute. Recovery International was founded in 1937 and consists of more than 500 community-based peer-led self-help meetings in North America and beyond, telephone meetings and online forums. The Abraham Low Institute was founded in 1989 and developed The Power to Change for Schools and The Power to Change for Corrections. The two organizations merged in January 2008 and officially incorporated under Abraham Low Self-Help Systems in January 2009.

Webitects worked with ALSHS to create a new website consistent with the organization's new name and identity that supports organizational communication goals and member needs. The site was built using a customized easy-to-use content management system (CMS) allowing ALSHS staff to maintain most site content without technical knowledge. Some site content, also maintained through the CMS, is available in Spanish.

The site integrates with PayPal's Website Payments Pro to support online donations, annual meeting registration, membership application, and a simple online book store. Order data from the online book store is sent to the fulfillment house via an XML data feed and all transaction details are logged for processing and reporting by ALSHS staff.

The site includes a find-a-meeting feature allowing users to search for meetings by zip code proximity, state, or country. Meeting locations are plotted on Google Maps along with integrated meeting times and contact information.

YouTube videos, "AddThis", and other social media tie-ins are used liberally throughout the site to encourage cross promotion and access to content through multiple channels.

Webitects also carried forward a message board system from the previous ALSHS website. The message board software was integrated visually and behind-the-scenes changes were made to ensure carryover of user credentials and posts from the old website.