Welcome to the first official episode of the Sober Positive Workplace Series brought to you by Show Up and Stay and hosted by President and Co-Founder, DeAnn Knighton. This week is a quick background on the host and some general information about the Sober Positive Workplace project. 

• When we use the power of normalization to change the narrative. 1:46
  • Of the 46 million Americans who struggle with at least one substance use disorder, 60% of those over the age of 12 have a job, according to the National Survey on Drug Use.    Source:  https://fortune.com/longform/drug-addiction-recovery-workplace-support/
  • Historically when we talk about drug epidemics like the one we find ourselves in now, we create a discourse that builds stigma and distance.
  • What is a Sober Positive Workplace.
    • "Before we talk about what it is, I want to talk about what it is not. It is not a call for the return of prohibition. It's not virtue signaling or a plan to encourage additional exclusionary practices or judgments about an individual's choice."
• Benefits to the organization and employees. 5:24
  • Benefits to the organization: 
    • increased productivity
    • reduced liability
    • improved retention
    • better recruitment
    • building a culture of inclusion
    •  normalizing the alcohol-free lifestyle.
  • Community-based recovery advocacy.
  • The distance that is created between those who drink and those who don't is part of the reason that there are so many issues around it.
  • How to navigate conversations around drinking.
• The more open I became, the more acceptance I found. 9:41
  • DeAnn shares some background and insight from her own story 
  • The more open DeAnn got about it, the more acceptance she found, and she became more comfortable with herself as a sober person.
  • She learned something really big over time about her unhealthy connection with work. 
• The shift to a sober positive workplace. 13:40
  • DeAnn's bio.
  • DeAnn is president and co-founder of Show up and Stay, a nonprofit focused on finding ways to bridge recovery gaps between healing from substance use disorder and starting the process of healing

If you have questions or comments or would like to be a guest on the Recovery Discovery Podcast, send an email to:
[email protected]

More information about our project is available at:
https://www.showupandstay.org/
https://www.soberpositiveworkplace.org/

For podcast updates, follow us on Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/showupandstayorg/

Music and Audio Production by Katie Hare.
https://www.hare.works