Aug 07 Teetotaling is spreading across the Pittsburgh region
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette – Teetotal Initiative, a 2-year-old Pittsburgh nonprofit that offers sober socializing for those in recovery, has received a $25,000 grant to expand its reach to those outside Allegheny County.
The Staunton Farm Foundation this week awarded Teetotal Initiative a capacity building grant to expand its sober-focused social events to five additional counties: Westmoreland, Washington, Butler, Beaver and Fayette, explained Scott Page, Teetotal Initiative executive director and co-founder.
Rehabilitation and addiction counseling is one part of the recovery puzzle and there’s plenty of great options for it. But life after rehab is important too and that’s where Teetotal is filling an extraordinary need, Mr. Page said.
“That was the most challenging part for me. Rehab was a breeze” compared to the loneliness he discovered once “drinks with friends” no longer was a part of his social calendar.
And he’s heard that same refrain echoed over and over in Pittsburgh and beyond.
In fact, that’s what initially sparked his friendship with Jackie Slaugenhaupt, someone he met during recovery and who also yearned for a full and rich social life, minus the presence of alcohol.
After commiserating for some time over the lack of sober social options in Pittsburgh, the duo simply started planning them on their own.
Soon after, the events — all of them are free — began to reach capacity attendance and Teetotaling took on a life of its own.
With the new grant, Mr. Page says their hopes are to bring in-person options to the outlying counties so that people don’t have to drive so far to find meaningful — and more importantly, fun — ways to socialize without the lure of alcohol or other intoxicating substances.
Ideally, people from these five counties will do what others did before them: attend a few Teetotal events and decide to get involved themselves, Mr. Page said. The more volunteers, the greater the reach.
The latest grant follows another from Staunton Farm Foundation — an $87,000 award in April — that enabled the quickly growing nonprofit to hire staff to continue to meet demand. In addition, Teetotal also received a $3,000 grant in June from the Three Rivers Community Foundation and a $1,000 award from Awesome Pittsburgh to support ongoing programs.
Monique Jackson, Staunton Farm Foundation executive director, said Teetotal’s innovative approach to helping people sustain their sobriety was a perfect fit for their funding model. The foundation was established in 1937 by Matilda Staunton Craig, who wanted her estate to be used to benefit those battling mental illness.
Today it funds nonprofit organizations in 10 southwestern Pa. counties: Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Fayette, Greene, Indiana, Lawrence, Washington and Westmoreland.
“In recovery and in life, community is really important. And so Scott and Jackie realize that isolation and boredom are something that could cause someone to relapse,” Ms. Jackson said. “This is a way that isn’t a formal treatment modality, but it is a way to build community and get people support and engagement in a unique way. And we want to support that as well.”
What Teetotal offers its attendees isn’t necessarily something that health insurance would pay for, but that doesn’t mean it’s not essential to maintaining sobriety, she said.
For many, meeting friends for dinner or happy hour cocktails often is a big part of their social lives. For someone pursuing sobriety, “if you take that away, there has to be something that replaces it. [Teetotal] seems like they have found a viable solution,” Ms. Jackson said.
Teetotal events have already begun to expand beyond the borders of Allegheny County, according to Mr. Page. On Aug. 2, the group hosted a Healing with Horses event at Divine Interactions Farm in Apollo, the first Teetotal event in Westmoreland County.
There have also been two in Butler County so far: a Taste of Saxonburg food tasting tour in March and a Fresh Start: The Sound of Letting Go, a guided meditation and intentional screaming session held in July at a private farm near Slippery Rock.
With the latest Staunton Farm grant, he said planning is already underway to bring more programs to those counties in the coming months.
Coming up in Allegheny County is a comedy show Aug. 13 featuring performers in recovery, a couple kayak tours of the Youghiogheny on Aug. 23, a Monet painting class at Paint Monkey’s Waterfront studio and more.
A 3-day Fresh A.I.R. (Art in Recovery) Festival is planned for Sept. 26 to 28 in Sharpsburg. The event, expanded from last year, will include two gallery spaces showcasing original works by artists in recovery, crafting stations, writing and literary sessions, live music by sober musicians, zero-proof cocktails, food and a host of other activities. Artist submissions are still being accepted.
For more information, visit their website, teetotal.org.
If you or someone you know is struggling with alcohol addiction, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism offers numerous resources at niaa.nih.gov.