St. Patrick’s Day is one of the most iconic events on Chicago’s calendar, with parades, the river dyeing and parties galore across the area.
The weekend is also often associated with heavy drinking. A Wallethub study found beer sales increased 174% on St. Patrick’s Day in 2023, compared to the rest of the year.
As a result, the holiday can be triggering for those in recovery. That’s where The Phoenix comes in.
“This gave me the outlet to go back out and be with people again in a really relaxed, fun environment,” said Greg Hiss, who’s been a member for three years. “There’s a lot of self-imposed isolation that comes with drinking. I had withdrawn from my career, friends and a lot of social activities,” said Hiss, who’s been in active recovery for five years. It’s become a massive part of my social life every single week.”
The Phoenix is a national nonprofit, “sober active” community providing fitness, wellness, music and other activities to foster “community, connection and sobriety.”
The group says it’s impacted the lives of more than one million people in recovery, a trend Mark Graham, who helped begin the Chicago chapter in 2017, believes will continue.
“We’re seeing the growing number of people getting into recovery and into sobriety, and to be able to have such a wide variety of events really makes the process of transformation so much easier. People feel less, ‘out on an island’ and more with people rebuilding their lives,” said Graham, who’s been on his own recovery journey for 15 years.
Fewer Americans are drinking, according to Gallup’s latest poll, that finds just 54% of U.S. adults consume alcohol, the lowest in its nearly 90-year trend.
Gallup found more Americans are associating alcohol with negative health impacts.
“People get really intimidated by the idea of recovery as this huge process and huge commitment,” said Hiss. “The barriers to participation are incredibly low. We want to try to encourage people who might be sitting on the sidelines because they’re afraid of participating in something like that to just give it a shot.”
The Phoenix says nearly 85% of its members, new to sobriety, stay sober after three months, with 92% reporting good or excellent health.
“Recovering pieces of you that you lost and creating this community again, it’s literally changed my life,” said Hiss.
The Phoenix has two St. Patrick’s Day events planned in Chicago:
Sober Skate: March 17, 7-9 pm; Lynwood Sport Center, 2030 Glenwood Dyer Rd, Lynwood, IL
Trivia Night: March 17, 8:30-10:30 pm; Cheesie’s Pub, 958 W. Belmont, Chicago, IL
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