As the Eau Claire Health Coalition notes, 'the culture around alcohol is shifting. In recent years, we’ve seen growth of a sober curious movement, folks in recovery becoming more open about their experiences, and the younger generations choosing not to imbibe.'

Summer is upon us, and on any given weekend in the Chippewa Valley, you can find live music, fundraisers, festivals, and community gatherings. For many people, those events offer connection and a chance to unwind. But for others, they also come with a quiet question: Is there a space here for me if I don’t want to drink?

Whether someone is in recovery, sober-curious, spending time with their kids, or simply choosing not to center their social life around alcohol, that question is becoming more common. We think of it as a signal that our community may be ready for more options.

The Eau Claire Health Alliance is a passionate group of over 250-plus partners working to improve health in our community. We’re working on community-identified needs like mental health and community connectedness, and substance misuse. One of our coalition strategies is working to increase community access to options for safe and sober places. We surveyed the community to see how we could connect efforts and strengthen what exists.

How did we get here?

The process:

• Every three years, several partners in Eau Claire County gather data and ask community members about their top health concerns.
• The Eau Claire Health Alliance reviews the data and determines what health concerns we can realistically impact, based on need, capacity, and on whether meaningful change is possible.
• After identifying our top health concerns, the Eau Claire Health Alliance created our 2025-2027 Community Health Improvement Plan, which outlines our plan to improve health in these areas.

In the most recent Community Health Assessment, alcohol misuse was the top health concern in Eau Claire County, with lack of recovery-friendly spaces and events as a notable contributor. Our coalition formed a task force to take on this work of our 2025-2027 Community Health Improvement Plan.

But, it’s Wisconsin.

Yes, and our culture is largely based on beer and cheese, old fashioneds and fish frys. We get it. But inclusivity is part of our culture, too.

This isn't about eliminating alcohol. It’s about options. It’s about visibility, accessibility, and creating a welcoming environment for all.

The culture around alcohol is shifting. In recent years, we’ve seen growth of a sober curious movement, folks in recovery becoming more open about their experiences, and the younger generations choosing not to imbibe.

Data and graphics, pictured above, via the 2025-2027 Eau Claire County Community Health Improvement Plan, identifying one of the top identified health priorities for the community – substance misues.

When we asked specifically about safe and sober spaces, the need was clear. The feedback from Eau Claire County residents highlights not only the need for more events and spaces not centered around alcohol, but also that people often don’t know what exists.

So, what are we doing about it?

The Eau Claire Health Alliance has been focusing our efforts on three key initiatives related to safe and sober spaces:

1. Increasing Promotion of Sober Events

We’ve been promoting Clearly Social Chippewa Valley, a growing Facebook group that posts sober meet-ups and recovery-friendly events.

We’ve also partnered with Volume One to highlight alcohol-free events through the Sober Event Initiative. To be eligible, your event must be alcohol-free. To submit your recovery-friendly events, be sure to put “Sober Event Initiative” in the comments so that it will be tagged in Volume One's events calendar with “Sober.”

2. Partnering with Venues

Since we don’t want to duplicate what’s already in place, partnerships are essential for adapting something rather than creating it. We’ve been fortunate enough to partner with the Eau Claire Express to make their annual Family Day game alcohol-free for general admission.

We could not do this work without champions in the community like the Eau Claire Express, whose commitment to promoting healthy communities helps create a more inclusive and welcoming Chippewa Valley. And we’re always eager to connect with additional partners who share this vision and want to play an active role in strengthening our community together!

3. Raising Awareness of Best Practices

Under the guidance of our community members’ responses, we developed handouts with best practices for responsible alcohol serving as well as how to create safe and sober spaces. These practical tools help suggest small changes that can be made to support a healthier, more inclusive environment for local venues. This is about expanding options and supporting businesses and organizers with tools that work.

With Eau Claire County rapidly growing and evolving, so are the needs of the people that live here. Safe and sober spaces are about expanding what the community can look like. Across the country, attitudes around alcohol are shifting. More people are choosing to drink less or not at all, and they are asking for spaces that reflect that choice.

In Eau Claire County, we have an opportunity to be proactive rather than reactive. By strengthening partnerships, supporting venues, and making sober events more visible, we are building a community that keeps pace with changing needs.

This work reflects who we already strive to be: inclusive, forward-thinking, and responsive. Creating more safe and sober spaces is not a departure from our culture; it is a next step in making sure everyone has a place at the table.

The "Squeaky Clean" improv show, held at Oh Claire Improv (515 Wisconsin St., Eau Claire) earlier this year, pictured.

This article was submitted by the Eau Claire Health Alliance, a coalition born from the merging of the former Eau Claire County: Eau Claire Healthy Communities and the Alliance for Substance Misuse Prevention groups • Learn more about the Eau Claire Health Alliance online at www.echealthalliance.org • Keep up with the Eau Claire Health Alliance on social media (@ecalliance) • Find events explicitly part of the "Sober Events Initiative" on the Volume One events calendar by seeing the "sober" events tag