Sober Sidekick seeks to leverage the strength of community to expand positive health outcomes and preserve lives. Their primary belief is that the opposite of addiction is connectedness, and that isolation stands as the most influential social determinant of health.
Sober Sidekick is a healthcare engagement platform that utilizes gamified peer-to-peer support to foster meaningful connections around sensitive topics that individuals may be hesitant to discuss elsewhere. By applying their unique “Empathy Algorithm,” the platform assures a 100% response rate from peers. This means that every member who posts on the platform receives support from their community, without exception. Sober Sidekick’s approach aims to scale preventative health and provide comprehensive support to individuals seeking recovery.
Sober Sidekick is a peer-led program that aims to decrease the rate of relapses among individuals seeking treatment for substance abuse. They employ their own Empathy Algorithm, which relies on community support, to achieve a significant 68% reduction in relapse rate after the fifth interaction. The organization’s central tenet is that isolation is the most impactful social determinant of health in this population and seeks to drive behavioral change at scale.
Sober Sidekick is backed by the American Heart Association as their lead investor and is the recipient of the 2022 Earnest Young NWA Innovator of the Year award. Their team is composed of individuals who have undergone recovery journeys, as well as world class MDs, social scientists, technologists, and health tech startup veterans.
In prioritizing the health outcomes of their members over short-term revenue and investor pressure, Sober Sidekick was recently featured in Fortune Magazine and is the subject of a Harvard Case Study.