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Submitted by: Susanne Johnson
In April of 2015, I was at my day job sweeping the floors when I started thinking about dating websites. I wondered if there were any specifically tailored to those in recovery. I went home that night and typed in the words www.singleandsober.com and to my surprise the website domain was for sale. It was one of those moments where you realize that something greater has just presented itself to you and you can either act on it or let it float away. I sat on it for about an hour and that was all it took; I made the purchase. I called a close friend who is a WordPress wizard and asked if he wanted to build a dating website. He said yes, and that became the start of the Single and Sober team.
Before the development of the website, I really did not have a strong support system in place to maintain my sobriety. I had my life under control after a couple years of rearranging my thought patterns and reshaping the bad habits into good ones, but often I would find myself saying, “Ok, so I am the sober one in town.” I was not active within an 12 Step community and my closest sober friend lived in Virginia. When this opportunity came along, I quickly realized that it would be a positive outlet to creatively drive energy toward developing a healthy relationship with myself and my sober world. It gave me something to focus on at a time when I was really searching for it. Thank you universe– I intend to pay it forward.
The Vision
We want this website to be a place where you can leave your worries and troubles at the door. Our goal is to provide an introduction platform where anyone who is sober and looking for a connection can visit and feel welcome and free to connect with like-minded individuals. Our website does not have an advanced matching algorithm in place yet, but we figured being single and sober in Chicago would be a good place to start.
The reason I chose Chicago for this website is because I was born and raised in Illinois. My parents met in Chicago in 1974 where my father was a structural engineer and my mother was a secretary. I loved the idea of developing the user base from the Windy City and the Midwest in general. However, just so you know, we do have users from all parts of the country so everyone is welcome.
Time to Give Thanks
The community of people I have met through social media has been amazing. Before the development of this sober dating website I was pretty much off the grid in the social media world. It has been a blessing to find people so willing to spread the word and be part of the team. I want to give my sincerest thanks to Heroes in Recovery who gave me the opportunity to share my story with you.
If you believe in my story, please pass this blog post along on your social media platforms. I am grateful for you and wish you many great successes in your life.