Sober Grid: An Overview
What is Sober Grid?
Sober Grid is an evidence-based Digital Health platform that leverages research, peer support services, and adaptive technologies to improve outcomes in Substance Use Disorders (SUD) and Serious Mental Illness (SMI). Beginning as a social media app for those in recovery and seeking community support, our member base has grown to over 300,000 strong and evolved into a service that assists the counties, unions, pharmaceutical companies, probate sector businesses, academic researchers, criminal justice programs, Universities and more in combating the stigma and treatment access surrounding these critical issues.
With our founders and much of our team in recovery, as well as our pride in diversity, many of our team are also members of minority and LGBTQ communities; Sober Grid approaches operations from the bottom-up with the benefit of our unique population in mind.
How does it work?
The primary function of the Sober Grid app is the social media component. Users can access a newsfeed with updates from other members, find meetings and members nearby for support, post their thoughts, and engage in Daily Check-Ins to log progress and stay present in their recovery. Members can also post a ‘Burning Desire’ which notifies the community about their need for immediate support. This could be related to a trigger or potential relapse. We celebrate our community wherever they are in their journey of recovery and allow our community to decide to stay anonymous if that is their preference.
We combine our peer community with Peer Coaches. Our coaches are state-certified and share lived experiences with the community. Coaching is a one-on-one process to help guide members through all aspects of life or recovery. It doesn’t matter if you are considering sobriety, struggling with mental health, or 10 years sober- coaches can personalize guided plans to assist through life's challenges.
Who do we work with?
Sober Grid has extensive contracts with unions, states, and counties to tackle the ongoing Opioid epidemic, which hit historic overdose records in 2020. Federal funding allows us to offer free coaching to individuals suffering from opioid or stimulant abuse as well as minority populations. Drug courts and criminal justice systems utilize our coaches and technology to provide a continuum of care for those entering or leaving the system. Addiction is not solved simply from providing treatment for the actual substance use. It involves social determinants of health such as: transportation, housing, employment, legal issues, and more, that are improved through the guidance of a coach and community.
Recently we have begun offering our services to Universities and private organizations. Strategic partnerships allow us to offer Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) such as Digital Therapeutics for depression and alcohol misuse. Our alcohol module is based around the idea of mitigation instead of complete abstinence, which evidence has proven can be a deterrent to those struggling with alcohol abuse. We support all forms of recovery and strive for inclusivity.
What comes next?
Sober Grid is ever-evolving, adapting to best serve the needs of substance abuse and mental illness sufferers. With funding from the National Science Foundation, National Institute of Health, academic researchers and more, we are constantly evaluating new methods of treatment in the digital health space. We are pioneering advances in Artificial Intelligence and predictive analytics to catch a relapse before it occurs. Our Research and Development team is working to bridge the gap between researchers and patients in clinical trials to provide the best care, outcomes, and usable data available. Our partnerships continue to reveal new insights into how we can grow alongside our community and be better stewards of mental health treatment.
Additionally, as one of the largest communities in the SUD/SMI space we understand the need to keep our community informed of new therapies, research and breakthroughs that help save lives. Our community does express interest in advancing the research to help prevent relapse, save lives and be more productive. We partner with Universities, Pharmaceutical companies and researchers who need a strong engaged community for their participant/patient recruitment needs. In addition to conducting our own research and providing services for patient recruitment we are coming to market soon with exciting technology that is funded by the National Science Foundation which will allow researchers to use our platform to collect data for their studies and a white label app with a placebo effect that will help researchers who have centralized, decentralized or virtual studies.
