Sober Grid Addiction Recovery Social Network to Offer 24/7 Peer Coaching, Acquires ASCENT Coaching Service to Deliver First-of-its-Kind Tool to Prevent Relapse
Sober Grid's acquisition has the potential to make a dent in the drug and alcohol addiction crisis in the United States.
BOSTON, Sept. 24, 2018 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Sober Grid, the largest social media network for those in addiction recovery, has acquired Ascent, an addiction peer coaching service, to offer personalized 24/7 support to its members who need professional assistance to stay drug free.
To start, ASCENT Coaching Powered by Sober Grid will offer support to those who have received access codes from their sponsoring treatment agencies. Soon, it will expand to offer direct-to-consumer private peer coaching with the touch of a button.
"The statistics are grim – someone with addiction works hard to break the cycle, but 40-60% percent of people will relapse," said Beau Mann, CEO of Sober Grid. "We built Sober Grid so those in recovery could feel the support of others going through it. With the addition of ASCENT, those who are struggling can talk to or text a trained addiction coach."
Research has shown that peer recovery coaching benefits include reduction in ER visits, hospital days and re-hospitalization, as well as recidivism. Studies also show those who have coaching are more engaged in treatment and have better overall health.
Started in 2016, ASCENT has been using virtual peer coaching to help those in recovery with customers including hospitals, and treatment centers and mental health and substance abuse county boards. Unlike traditional recovery coaches who typically work office hours, virtual peer coaching allows those in need to reach out at night and on weekends, when cravings can be particularly difficult.
"A vital part of the Lake County Drug Court program is to encourage participants in building a strong support network for successful recovery," said Dr. Dennis Michelson, the Lake County Drug Court Treatment Manager in Ohio. "The services offered through Ascent and now Sober Grid allow our participants to have instant contact with a trained peer coaches 24 hours a day - seven days a week."
With over 130,000 downloads, Sober Grid has been helping individuals in recovery since 2015 and has worked with researchers from Harvard Medical School and University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine to enable them to predict risk of relapse. Like other popular social networks, Sober Grid users have access to a global newsfeed where they can communicate and share posts with other sober people. They can also find other sober people nearby on The Grid— a GPS locator user interface that displays user profiles and distances from them. Users can also choose to remain anonymous. Sober Grid will also tells users how long they've been sober, how much money they have saved being sober, and more.
SOURCE Sober Grid
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