from "The 12 Steps for Adult Children"

"Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others"

Natural disasters are always gripping news...  for a brief time, they are a major focus of our energy. But rarely do we have an opportunity to see the hard work of rebuilding that takes place after the disaster has passed...

Working Step 9 involves making personal or indirect contact with those we have harmed. We review our Step 8 list... We approach each one we can with gentleness, sensitivity, and understanding. Our Higher Power can help us to know the best way to make contact. Some people will require a face to face meeting, while other situations may be handled by simply changing our behavior...

Step 9 completes the forgiveness process that began in Step 4 and fulfills our requirement to reconcile with others...

When working this Step, we need to distinguish between amends and apologies. Apologies are appropriate; however, they are not substitutes for making amends. A person can apologize for being late for work, but until the behavior is corrected, an amend cannot be made. It is important to apologize when necessary, but it is more important to commit to changing the unacceptable behavior...

Steps 8 and 9 help us repair the past. Through these Steps, we take responsibility for our part in causing injury to others and make restitution where necessary...