PORTSMOUTH, Va. — April is National Alcohol Awareness Month and 16.4% of adults in Virginia over 18 binge drink at least once a month, according to data from drugabusestatistics.org.
While the option not to drink is often on the table, sobriety can still be socially isolating. That is why two women from Chesapeake have created a way to make more people feel less alone.
Every story of sobriety is different. There's Christina Kimbrough's story of being sober for about 3 years and struggling with an addiction to alcohol. And then there's Elena Thorstensen. She didn't have a drinking problem, but didn't like the way alcohol made her feel after the fact.
"I was in the gray area where it was hard for me to reconcile my health conscious lifestyle with drinking," says Thorstensen.
A hurdle that both of them say they came across was how to create a healthy medium of having a social life without the temptation of drinking
"I don't have kids yet. I wanted to go out. I always say, 'I'm sober, I'm not dead,'" says Kimbrough. "And that's where we found the need for the company because we were like, 'Where do you go?'"
Legally Different, a sober bar in Portsmouth, provides this sort of opportunity. Owners say they're going to be working with Elena and Christina as their business takes off.
It’s called Free Life LLC and it offers where events for sober people individuals will be hosted, giving them a taste of socialization. Christina says there are some advantages of being sober instead of hungover. For example, staying out of trouble with the law.
According to the Chesapeake Police department there were 483 DUIs in 2020. Four months into 2023, there's also been 82.
The average number of deaths in the state related to excessive drinking is 3,071 according to drugabusestatistics.org.
The co-founders say Free Life is much more than socializing in sobriety. The new company will also serve as a networking opportunity for work connections, friendships and even finding that special someone. All while also trying to break the stigma behind recovery and sobriety.
"We're just trying to show people that we do recover and we do live these full beautiful lives afterwords," says Kimbrough.
To learn more about Free Life you can click the link here.
