As many people celebrate New Year's Eve with alcohol, a Great Falls organization is providing support for those choosing a sober lifestyle during what can be a challenging time of year.
The Sober Life offers community and resources for people in recovery, especially during the holiday season when social pressures around drinking can be intense.
"When you're newly sober and the holidays are happening, we can be just isolated in that because it feels alone, like you're used to being out at the bar, or you used to go in and doing things with your old friends," Rosalie Kuska, peer recovery coach and care coordinator at The Sober Life, explained. "We just offer a new community for people and we post, like holiday tips on Facebook and try and give people some ways to make it through the holidays with some new boundaries."
Justin Robicheau shares how the organization is helping others maintain sobriety during the holidays - watch the video here:
Rich Conrad, peer support coordinator at The Sober Life, emphasizes meeting people where they are in their recovery journey.
"I just meet them where they're at. You know, I'm no better than the person that just started his walk with sobriety a week ago. So I just meet them where they're at and, you know, ask them, ask him how they're feeling, and just listen to them," Conrad said.
As 2025 begins, Conrad encourages people to set realistic goals for their recovery.
"Set small goals for yourself and achieve them, and then you can just build off of that," Conrad said.
The organization also provides support for those dealing with grief.
"Everybody has suffered some sort of grief. Some people don't know that they're in a grief spot. So we have some ladies that come here that, that run that group, they have snacks, and it's just a place to get stuff out," Kuska said.
For Kuska, helping others in their recovery journey has become personally fulfilling work.
"It's not something I ever thought I'd be able to do. I was nervous when I started here because I was like, I don't know if I have much to offer, but I've realized it's just it fills my cup every single day, being able to help people where they are. And it just reminds me of how far I've come," Kuska said.
Staff say the organization has seen significant success in helping people maintain their recovery.
"The impact that the Sober Life has is huge. I can just see it. People's lives change and we see we do data collection with all of our peer support, and we see people stay sober, get in stable housing and maintain that recovery," Kuska said.
