GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — Monday morning may be a struggle for people who partied too hard for the Big Game, but festive cocktails and beer weren’t a part of one West Michigan watch party.
Guiding Light Mission in Grand Rapids held a “Sober Bowl” event on Sunday.
The mission helps men overcome substance and alcohol abuse issues.
“The drinking or drug use has become kind of their fun and also their first response to just life in some ways,” Brian Elve, the recovery program director, said.
Elve said the Big Game doesn’t have to be synonymous with drinking. That’s why the mission provided food and TVs for the event. There was no alcohol, making it a more comfortable space for men in recovery.
Daniel Lenger graduated from the recovery program last year. He said he mainly struggled with alcohol, but after seven months, he learned his life was worth more than that.
“There's not one thing that I miss about alcohol,” Lenger told 24 Hour News 8.
Lenger said that once he realized life isn’t perfect and that he controls how to handle its curveballs, he was able to make a change.
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