LGBTQ+ mental health app Voda launches free sobriety support hub for Pride Month
The hub aids those seeking advice on "cutting back, navigating recovery, or simply trying to better understand themselves"
By Aaron Sugg
LGBTQ+ mental health app Voda has launched a free “Sober Curiosity & Recovery” hub inside its app to support people navigating alcohol and substance use this Pride Month.
The hub offers 15 free self-guided therapeutic practices developed by professionals to help LGBTQ+ people explore, reduce, or change their relationship with alcohol and other drugs (AOD).
Voda draws on statistics from NHS Digital, which show that LGB adults were more likely to drink at higher-risk levels compared to the overall population.
Voda’s Sober Curiosity & Recovery hub includes resources for:
* Understanding the Pattern: Making sense of the patterns beneath substance use, without shame or judgement.
* Urges & Cravings: Practical tools for when urges feel intense.
* Sober-Curious in Social Spaces: Navigating parties, dates, and nights out at your own pace.
* The Morning After: Gentle support for comedowns and difficult mornings.
* Beginning Again: Returning to yourself after a setback, gently.
Chris Sheridan MBACP (Accred) FRSA (they/them), Lead Psychotherapist at Voda, said that substance dependency can in some cases be an escape from “isolation, shame, loneliness, grief and trauma”.
“These struggles are often shaped by the ongoing impact of stigma and minority stress,” Sheridan added.
“This is why we built this hub: as a starting point for our community to access inclusive support, whether they’re considering cutting back, navigating recovery, or simply trying to better understand themselves,” Sheridan said.
“It can also be one of the hardest seasons of the year” – CEO of Voda, Jaron Soh on substance use during Pride Month
Jaron Soh (he/him), Co-founder and CEO of Voda, said the launch of the Sober Curiosity & Recovery hub is intentional this Pride Month.
“Pride is a celebration, but it can also be one of the hardest seasons of the year for queer people navigating their relationship with alcohol and substance use,” Soh said.
“For many queer people, alcohol and substance use are often entangled with the spaces where queer life happens, whether that’s in a bar, club, or at a house party.
Professionals say the Voda “Sober Curiosity & Recovery” hub will open room for “healing and growth”
“This is why we designed this hub to meet people wherever they are and give them easy-to-learn, therapy-crafted tools to explore a new relationship with alcohol and other substances,” Soh continued.
Professionals said the hub can act as both a “self-help tool and a companion to personal therapy”, reflecting a digital platform focused on “healing and growth”.
The Voda app is available via the App Store and Google Play Store, offering LGBTQ+ people advice and support through evidence-based tools.