Sober St. Pete founders Rachel and Kim are providing a service to our community. The organization is only a couple months old, but they have already garnered over 400 organic Instagram followers and counting. People are clearly interested! “As soon as we announced it, there were so many responses of ‘I have been wanting this!,’ and just genuine excitement, which encourages us, knowing that we are on the right path,” beams Kim.
A Labor of Love
Kim and Rachel both have day jobs; for them, Sober St. Pete is truly a labor of love. They seek to build a local, inclusive sober community. “Our mission is to create a safe space for those who are sober or just sober-curious, and our passion is to reduce the stigma associated with not drinking,” says Kim. Sober St. Pete welcomes everyone – truly. They are not affiliated with any recovery-based programs. Anyone can attend, whether or not they are in recovery or have chosen an alcohol-free lifestyle.
“There are so many benefits to and reasons for being sober, and society stigmatizes those who choose not to drink – we want to change that; this is the cornerstone of our community,” she explains. “We created Sober St. Pete because we saw a lack of sober options for social interaction. As the city grows, more and more bars, breweries, and the like are opening every week it seems. We want to see the city grow for everyone – so holding space for those who do not drink is important to us. The role of alcohol has always been a pivotal one in society and we want to facilitate a change in the conversation, starting with eliminating the stigma of not drinking by coming together and creating connection.”
Alcohol-free Social Events
The group, still in its infancy, is currently planning one organized meetup per month and will also promote other alcohol-free events around town. For example, in late February, they hosted a kayaking trip at Fort DeSoto, and in March it will be yoga on the beach (date TBD). They aim to enhance and build upon the larger alcohol-free community in St. Pete, including folks who are sober, sober-curious, in recovery, and those who just don’t enjoy drinking. All Sober St. Pete events are posted on their social media channels. Check out @soberstpete on Instagram and Facebook!
