As Pride season continues with festivals, parades, and increased nightlife, there is a community within our LGBTQ+ family that continues to thrive and grow, gaining a stronger voice in the last decade – that of our sober community. Pride celebrations now include safe spaces and events that cater to those on their journey from addiction, the stigma towards our sober family and the assumption that they can’t party with us is being diminished. Yet, there is still a long way to go. Because of our battle with discrimination, isolation, gender identity, and abandonment, the LGBTQ community struggles with substance abuse at a rate of two to three times that of the general population. Alarmingly, up until now, there have been zero facilities dedicated to our particular needs. Enter Rainbow Hill, founded by Southern California-based couple Andrew Fox and Joey Bachrach. The two, inspired by their own journey in recovery, left lucrative careers in real estate to open the doors of Rainbow Hill Sober Living in 2021, and, this summer, Rainbow Hill Recovery, an intensive outpatient treatment center in the Los Angeles area.

In this episode, we chat about how these two met and got Rainbow Hill off the ground, we talk about addiction in the LGBTQ community, advice for friends and family of those suffering addiction, relapse rates, spreading the message of sobriety, the services that Rainbow Hill has to offer, and what the future of the organization holds. Hosted by Alexander Rodriguez. You can find out more about Rainbow Hill RainbowHillRecovery.com Check out our in-depth article with Andrew and Joey at Metrosource.com