What is a ‘sober active community?’ Recovery group focuses not on 12 steps but activities, socializing

When Jim Friedl of Woodstock found a new recovery group supporting his decades-long struggle with alcohol use, he said he also found a way to break free from isolation, common among many who struggle with addiction.

“I’m enjoying it,” Friedl, 55, said of his involvement with The Phoenix, a national nonprofit group new to McHenry County that calls itself a “sober active community.” It focuses less on steps and meetings and more on activities and socializing.

“It is a group of like-minded people being able to get out, and not only to support each other, but just the fact [we’re] getting out. A lot of people in the group are in recovery, and this is a chance for them to become social again,” Friedl said.

The Phoenix, which began in 2006 in Colorado and is active in Chicago and other cities across the country, approaches recovery from alcohol and substance use disorders and other addictions by embracing the power of community and belonging.

“We’re not just dealing with a substance use problem, we’re facing an epidemic rooted in social isolation. The Phoenix model leverages the transformational power of connection and human resilience to build a sober movement,” according to a statement on its website.

Through private funding and grants, The Phoenix organizes free weekly and periodic activities, including nature walks, rock climbing, bike riding, yoga, movie nights, drum circles and camping. Online activities such as yoga and meditation also are available.

Upcoming events include trivia nights and winter hikes that will continue as long as it is safe to do so, said Justin Triplett, 44, also of Woodstock and a volunteer for the local group, which began in April. On Saturday, Oct. 26, a Halloween-themed scavenger hunt is planned in downtown Crystal Lake that will begin and end at The Other Side sober bar.

Triplett said each event is free, but participants must be sober for 48 hours before attending an outing.

“As an adult, It is hard to make friends. Sometimes, as an adult in recovery, it’s even harder,” said Triplett, who is in long-term recovery himself. Through this program, “a lot of people in recovery are making those connections. Creating a new community, probably the hardest thing you have to do” while in recovery, he said.

This is not like the structure of Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous or 12-step groups, proponents say. Other programs are self-based and involve going to meetings and taking medication. The Phoenix approach is about creating community and finding new people who share the same healthy desire and want change. It is “getting people to have a community with you [and] counting on those people to meet you where you are,” Triplett said.

Sometimes people are worried about participating in physical activities or something they do not have any experience with. But Triplett assures everyone that “our goal is not necessarily to get you in shape. We are here to support each other, make friendships, try new things and maybe find new passions,” he said.

The initiative pairs well with other recovery groups and programs. Additionally, those who are not dealing with an addiction, but just want to support someone who is or just wants to get out, meet people and be active also are welcomed, he said.

Friedl said the benefits are not only that those in the activities support each other’s sobriety but they are doing it in a relaxing environment, often outdoors. They are doing new things and have conversations on topics other than addiction, he said.

Friedl has gone on a camping trip where he even went tubing down a river for the first time and on weekly morning hikes in Veterans Acres in Crystal Lake. He has met at least a dozen new and like-minded people through the group, which has been “very beneficial” in his recovery, he said.

This isn’t Friedl’s first time in recovery but, he said this time it is working. “I met the right group of people this time around.”

Friedl said he has learned “a lot about” himself while making new friends and experiencing new things. The experiences he’s had in the group, he said, “kind of makes you realize the problem wasn’t the problem, it was the way you were thinking.”

“When I was using, I became quite a hermit, and just having this opportunity to get out and not have to pretend to be anything other than what you are, you can be yourself,” he said. “You can talk about anything with these people, because more than likely, they have been through it themselves.”

Paige Dem, 21, of Spring Grove said she is in recovery from a drug addiction. She was inspired to get sober when her best friend died from an overdose.

“It taught me that it can happen to anyone,” she said.

She said she met Triplett at a SMART Recovery meeting at The Other Side that led her to The Phoenix. She’s attended several activities since spring and said it has been a “good way to meet people.”

“In recovery, it’s hard to make friends, especially as an adult in recovery,” Dem said. “A lot of people will go to meetings and just talk about recovery the whole time. This is nice because it’s for recovery, but we just have normal talks too. ... It’s a good way to meet people and to find new hobbies.”

Among the activities for which Dem joined the group was rollerskating, which she said she didn’t realize she liked so much. She hadn’t rollerskated since she was a child at a birthday party.

“When you’re in recovery, it is kind of boring sometimes,” Dem said. “You need to find new things to do. Everyone’s experience is different, but for me the people I was around were not the best influences, not the best people making the best choices, getting in trouble with the law or making choices not good for you or the people around you. … This is always good for you. Everyone there is there for the same reason, to help and better themselves.”

Here is where you can learn more about The Phoenix recovery organization and download the app, visit ThePhoenix.org.