They started with a group chat and a “hey, I’m in Brooklyn too.” Now they’re building one of the most authentic sober mom communities on the internet.
If you got sober before social media made sobriety look aspirational, you know what it felt like to look for your people in all the wrong places. Chat rooms. Bulletin boards. Waiting for someone to type “Hi, I’m Ed” while you quietly contemplated relapsing out of sheer boredom.
The landscape has changed. A lot.
And for sober moms specifically, one of the freshest additions to that landscape is the Sober Mom Collective, a community started by six women who refused to let a good thing die.
A DM That Changed Things
Jen, based in Brooklyn and fresh off her seven-year soberversary, and Leah, formerly Brooklyn and now Chicago, found each other inside a now-defunct online sober moms group. Jen was leading meetings. Leah was on what she describes, with characteristic honesty, as “the struggle bus” with day ones and relapses.
One day, Jen sent a message.
“Hey, I’m in Brooklyn too. If you ever want to chat, here’s my number. Call me.”
Leah called. Then kept calling. Four years of friendship later, they co-founded the Sober Mom Collective alongside four other women who felt exactly the same way when their original community went dark: we cannot let this disappear.
“We just couldn’t imagine that home going away,” Leah said. “It had become such a place for all of us.”
What They Built
The Sober Mom Collective is not a treatment program. It is not a 12-step meeting. It is not a wellness brand trying to sell you a supplement. It is a community, hosted on Mighty Network, for mothers in sobriety, recovery, or sober curiosity who want somewhere to land that is specifically theirs.
About 120 members strong, with a consistent core of roughly 100 women who show up regularly, the collective has built out subspaces for single moms, co-parenting situations, and parents raising neurodiverse kids. They run book clubs. They have hosted Q&As with authors like Dr. Ingrid Clayton, whose book “Fawning” prompted so much conversation that a dedicated study group spun up on its own, now open to women who are not even in recovery. They host virtual dance parties, movie watches, and the Weekly Reset, a weekly drop-in meeting open to any mother in sobriety, recovery, or sober curiosity. No membership required. Just show up.
“We’re just trying to make sure it’s as accessible as possible,” Leah said. “We can be another piece of the patchwork of your recovery.”
They recently became a trusted resource of She Recovers, a partnership that fits neatly with both organizations’ shared philosophy: however you are doing this counts.
Service, Not Clout
Here is what sets the Sober Mom Collective apart from a lot of what fills sober wellness feeds right now: none of the founders want to be famous for it.
“None of us is out there to be like a sober celebrity,” Jen said. “We all decided to do this for service.”
That creates an interesting tension in 2026, when the algorithm rewards whoever is loudest. But Jen and Leah are less interested in cracking the code than in making sure one more mom knows there is somewhere to go. Their first in-person meetup for members is coming up this April, timed loosely to their one-year anniversary. Member-only for now, but if it goes well, they are open to expanding.
Who Shows Up
The membership stretches coast to coast, with about two-thirds in Central and Eastern time zones and the remaining third out west. Kids at home range from infants to grown adults, though the sweet spot in the group tends to be moms with kids in that particularly delightful 8-to-14 range.
You know the one.
“They’re having hormones. We’re having hormones,” Leah said, laughing.
Perimenopause and sobriety have come up as a dedicated meeting topic more than once. If you know, you know.
The Magic Wand Answer
When asked where they see the Sober Mom Collective three years from now, neither Jen nor Leah reached for growth metrics or follower counts. What they described was quieter and more durable.
“If we help one mom to not feel alone,” Leah said, “that’s where I’m trying to keep my eyes.”
Jen added: “I wanted to stay sober because I found people that made me want to stay sober. Even though they weren’t in my exact location.”
That is the whole thing, really. The whole reason any of us go looking for our people in group chats and Zoom squares and borrowed bathroom minutes after bedtime. Because staying sober is easier when you have someone who gets it, even if she is three time zones away and her kids are also going through it.
Find the Sober Mom Collective
The Sober Mom Collective is open to mothers in sobriety, recovery, and sober curiosity. The Weekly Reset is open to all. Visit sobermomcollective.com to learn more and join the community on Mighty Network. Follow them on Instagram and Facebook. Questions? Reach the team at info@sobermomcollective.com.
If you are a member with a sober business, a story to share, or an event you want the world to know about, submit it to the TSC Sober events calendar or drop us a line at thesobercurator@gmail.com.
The Sober Curator covers sober lifestyle, pop culture, and recovery resources for people in long-term recovery, the just-getting-started crowd, and everyone in the middle. Getting sober matters. Staying sober matters more.
SOBER SPOTLIGHT at The Sober Curator shines a light on extraordinary individuals making a positive impact in the recovery community. From advocates and authors to entrepreneurs and everyday heroes, these stories celebrate the people who inspire change, give back, and lead by example in sobriety.
Know someone whose story deserves to be told? 🌟 Pitch a Sober Spotlight Profile features for sober people who are doing, building, or making something specific. The bar is what you have done, not the fact that you got sober. Submit a spotlight pitch →
SOBER CURATOR PODCAST: Unpacking Menopause, Sobriety, and Silver Balls—Inside “The Menopause Revolution” on The Sober Curator Podcast
Your Go-To Guide for All Things Recovery & Sober Living
The Sober Curator’s PILLAR Content Hub is your one-stop guide for sobriety resources, addiction recovery resources, and sober living tips. From non-alcoholic drink guides to sober travel, entertainment, and lifestyle inspiration, our curated cornerstone articles are regularly updated to keep you informed, inspired, and connected. Whether you’re in recovery, sober curious, or supporting someone you love, this hub offers the sober lifestyle guide you’ve been looking for.
Resources Are Available
If you or someone you know is experiencing difficulties surrounding alcoholism, addiction, or mental illness, please reach out and ask for help. People everywhere can and want to help; you just have to know where to look. And continue to look until you find what works for you. Click here for a list of regional and national resources.
