{"id":31376,"date":"2024-10-31T11:00:42","date_gmt":"2024-10-31T15:00:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/simplybuckhead.com\/?p=31376"},"modified":"2024-10-28T12:42:34","modified_gmt":"2024-10-28T16:42:34","slug":"support-for-sobriety","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/simplybuckhead.com\/support-for-sobriety\/","title":{"rendered":"SUPPORT FOR SOBRIETY"},"content":{"rendered":"

BEN\u2019S FRIENDS LAUNCHES MEETINGS IN BUCKHEAD.<\/p>\n

\"Charleston-based<\/a>
Charleston-based restaurateurs Mickey Bakst and Steve Palmer founded Ben’s Friends in 2016. Palmer is an Atlanta-native and is the founder of Indigo Road Hospitality Group.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Ben's<\/a>
Ben’s Friends hosts in-person meetings and events for sober support in more than 20 cities throughout the U.S.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Ben\u2019s Friends is a support organization for food and beverage industry workers struggling with addiction and substance abuse. Founded in Charleston in 2016 by Mickey Bakst and Steve Palmer, the group serves 23 cities across the country. Atlanta is its most recent addition for in-person support meetings. Jessica Gamble, chef de cuisine at KR SteakBar, is one of four Atlanta chapter leaders. \u201cAfter COVID, I decided to get sober. Through some online research, I found Ben’s Friends, and it turns out there are a lot of people in the industry that [choose to be] sober, from bartenders to winemakers and chefs,\u201d she says. Three years later, Gamble is guiding others seeking their sober path.<\/p>\n

She describes the meetings as laid back with a strong sense of camaraderie. \u201cIt’s not always super deep. Sometimes it does get deep, but it’s also just good to be around like-minded people who share both the desire to not use any substances but also have the same restaurant industry experience and the stressors that come along with that,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

The group emphasizes that all are welcome. \u201cWhen someone mentions going to a meeting, whether it is AA or Smart Recovery or Ben’s Friends, it is intimidating because you don’t know who’s going to be on the other side of that door. To walk into a meeting is a really big step because you’re admitting that you would like some help with something, and that is a really hard thing to do,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Meetings are held every Monday at 11 a.m. at Pricci in Buckhead. Lasting about an hour, the gatherings begin with a preamble then shift to a discussion topic. Attendees are invited to share or simply observe. \u201cWe give people a safe place to say what they need to say and to process what they need to process,\u201d she says. For those not yet ready for in-person gatherings, Ben\u2019s Friends holds meetings via Zoom daily at 1 p.m.<\/p>\n

bensfriendshope.com<\/a>
\n@bensfriendshope<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

BEN\u2019S FRIENDS LAUNCHES MEETINGS IN BUCKHEAD. Ben\u2019s Friends is a support organization for food and beverage industry workers struggling with addiction and substance abuse. Founded in Charleston in 2016 by Mickey Bakst and Steve Palmer, the group serves 23 cities across the country. Atlanta is its most recent addition for in-person support meetings. Jessica Gamble,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":31378,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[24736,32020,21],"tags":[32259,6048,22886,32256,32257,32255,32254,32258,32253],"thb-sponsors":[],"yoast_head":"\nSUPPORT FOR SOBRIETY – Simply Buckhead<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/simplybuckhead.com\/support-for-sobriety\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"SUPPORT FOR SOBRIETY – Simply Buckhead\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"BEN\u2019S FRIENDS LAUNCHES MEETINGS IN BUCKHEAD. Ben\u2019s Friends is a support organization for food and beverage industry workers struggling with addiction and substance abuse. Founded in Charleston in 2016 by Mickey Bakst and Steve Palmer, the group serves 23 cities across the country. Atlanta is its most recent addition for in-person support meetings. 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