FAQs
We receive a lot of enquiries from people who are seeking support or who want to ask our charity or Shanna a question.
You'll find the answers to all of our most frequently asked questions below. You can also find out more about Sober in the Country and what we do by clicking around our website.
At Sober in the Country, we’re changing the narrative around booze in the bush. We have a simple message and a bold vision: a future where every single one of our rural and remote mates – from farmers to FIFO workers – always know it’s #OK2SAYNO to booze.
- As a national charity, we’re creating radical social change that’s saving the lives of remote and rural Australians affected by alcohol harm via our advocacy, straight talk, sharing our lived-experience, and partnerships with leading Alcohol and Drug (AOD) organisations. We don’t believe in waiting until rock bottom or crisis hits to help a mate.
- Our founder and CEO Shanna Whan (AM) (2022 Australian of the Year recipient) also travels and advocates as a keynote speaker, panelist, and TV guest at a national level.
- Additionally, we offer an online peer-to-peer support group called the Bush Tribe that is strictly for rural and remote Australians choosing to cut back or quit alcohol. The Bush Tribe is very closely moderated and carefully monitored, and users have optional anonymity. The Bush Tribe is NOT a program nor representing a program: we encourage our members to simply share safely and support each other while investigating a range of options and what works best for them.
- Finally, we share and tell stories that amplify the impact of our work. Head here to watch our Amplification Project videos, where some of our rural mates share their powerful, relatable stories of hope after choosing a life with less or no booze.
We are effectively casting a virtual net across rural Australia to ensure we “do what we can with what we have” to catch our mates, upstream, before they fall into the river of alcohol harm, misuse, and addiction.
Sometimes – those we catch need a great deal more than peer-support and a safe place to talk. And, so, while Sober in the Country is not a funded service provider, we are now aligned with and working alongside leading national Australian organisations who specialise in alcohol (and drug) harm. These organisations have the staff, capacity, funding and resources to help our most vulnerable, including: free phone counselling, home-based tele-health detoxing, and more. You can find resources and links to further clinical help and support here.
If you're new here it's imperative you understand we are a charity that is not a program or service provider. We work as advocates and offer an online peer support group – our Bush Tribe (for rural people). We aren't a replacement for clinical, medical, or professional support, and we do not provide one-on-one counselling or services.
However, if you click on our “Need Support” button top right of every page, you’ll find the contact details for urgent and non-urgent support from organisations that offer services including free phone or text counselling, supported clinical bush telehealth detoxes, counselling, sober coaching and more. And in our various Support and Resources pages you can find in our menu, you can find out more about joining our Bush Tribe, access a range of resources, and recommended external organisations that can provide you with the support you are seeking.
While Shan dearly wishes she could support every single person who reaches out – it simply isn't physically possible. She is increasingly time-poor and carrying an enormous load and has to be incredibly careful to have boundaries in place to protect her mental health.
Shanna speaks publicly through Sober in the Country's advocacy work and is very active (daily) as a lived-experience expert in our Bush Tribe.
She has, over the years, shared the intimate details of her story countless times on a huge range of national and international media platforms – so you can catch that on Our Media Over the Years page at your leisure.
No.
In short: Sober in the Country is not a funded service provider, nor do we work in a one-on-one capacity or as a drug or alcohol counselling service.
We are a small charitable organisation, and our purpose lies in awareness, advocacy, and peer-to-peer support (via our online Bush Tribe) only.
However our absolute aim is to ensure those in need get to support as soon as possible. That's why we are linked in and partnered with other large organisations who do have the government funding, staff, and capacity for service provision, counselling, and more.
All of this is listed on our website under our Support and Resources pages for you that you can find in our menu.
We strongly recommend you look through all the information. Help is available.
Simply visit our Donate page.
There are also other ways you can show your support – and you'll find them on our Get Involved page and our #OK2SAYNO page as well
Thank you! We only exist because of donations like yours.
Please note: We are a charity with Deductible Gift Recipient (DGR) status, which means any donations you make to Sober in Country are tax deductible.
Just visit our Bush Tribe page, or go straight to the form, fill it out and submit it. We will take a day or two to get back to you (as we manually process and check all applications).
The reason we ask new members to fill out a form is for privacy and protection: two things we are fiercely strict on.
Please remember: this is a peer-support group for for rural and remote people only.
If you're from the city or a large regional area, you can find a number of organisations we work alongside and recommend that offer online peer support groups that can help you via our Need Support tab and our Support to Cut Back or Quit Alcohol page.
No. The Bush Tribe is simply a peer-to-peer support group with the option for anonymity for those who need it.
The Bush Tribe is not affiliated with any organisation or program. As our philosophy is strictly based in our belief that “there is no one size for all” ... we don't tell, or judge, or instruct: we simply stand by our friend choosing to drink less or not at all. Members share their stories and listen to others' stories, provide encouragement and share resources they've found useful.
Our hundreds of Bush Tribe members are people from all walks of life, all ages (minimum 18 years of age and up), and all beliefs. And while our members all do their own “thing” in terms of programs or structured support alongside the peer-support they give and receive via the Bush Tribe, it is a requirement of joining that our members each commit to finding the right structured support for them as well (e.g. via SMART Recovery, AA, This Naked Mind, etc.).
Just visit our Approved content for hosts & media page where you will find a media content kit or head down to the bottom of the website in our footer where you'll find a link to contact us.
We have been asked this frequently, and while we wish we could say “yes” immediately .... it's not as simple as it sounds.
In time, Sober in the Country will be seeking more official brand ambassadors, volunteers and speakers, but our first priority is to ensure we have the right funding, governance, and legalities in place for our current advocacy work and initiatives. But in the future, as we grow, we will be seeking to expand the number of Sober in the Country volunteers and speakers.
So please watch this space!
But there are heaps of ways you can support us in the meantime, and they're outlined for you on our Get Involved page.
Sober in the Country's main purpose is to support the person fighting the addiction, but we do plan on creating a rural peer support space online for family members soon.
The great news is that there are already excellent resources and online anonymous support options available for friends and family worried about a loved one affected by alcohol harm. Click on our Need Support button at the top of the page or head to our Support for Family and Friends page where you'll find links to support organisations and resources that can help you.
Whether you wish to donate, join our #OK2SAYNO campaign, support our projects, fundraise, or share your own story ...
the best ways to easily support us are covered on the Get Involved section of the website, but please feel free to Contact Us if you have an idea outside the square, such as a fundraiser, etc.
In short, no.
‘Sober in the City’ is already well and truly happening all across Australia, by many other names, pages, organisations, and charities.
We have never been interested in re-inventing a wheel: we exist to recalibrate the wheel for bush conditions.
So we'll let the legends doing important work in the city keep doing that, and we will stay focused on what we do best: supporting remote and rural Australians affected by alcohol harm.
Absolutely!!
Our passion lies in amplifying messages and voices like yours from all across the bush. Whether you spent a month booze-free or you've decided to quit for good, we'd love to share your stories and your progress.
We have a form for you to fill out and send to us that explains best format, length, and more.
Just head to our Book Shanna page and submit an enquiry there.
All our speaker event fees go direct to the charity and are a tax-deductible expense.
Please be aware that Shanna's time is increasingly booked up, so early bookings and long lead times are vital.
We have a great range of merchandise from stubby coolers and stickers to trucker caps to bucket hats, tanks, tees and winter sleeves.
Just visit our online store here.
PLEASE send us your merch photos to share!
NOTE: what we have in stock is what is on the website. If you're chasing something you've seen online and it's not there, it's sold out, sorry.
We receive a lot of emails asking Shanna’s advice on starting a charity along with a lot of “how to” questions ...
While Shan deeply wishes she could support everyone starting out, she does not have the capacity for additional pro-bono advisory support.
However, if you listen in to her years and years worth of very frank media and podcasting, Shanna does discuss starting a charity across these various mediums, so that will be helpful.
What she'd love you to know is that founding and creating Sober in the Country was nothing simple or linear, and has taken the better part of a decade to figure out how to get sober and then start a charity and build it into something with a broader team that is growing and making radical social change and increasingly saving the lives of rural Australians affected by alcohol harm.
One day, Shanna plans to write a book about these experiences (she began her memoir this year and hopes to release it in 2025). But, in her words, getting Sober in the Country off the ground “just came down to nothing more complicated than trying, failing, and being relentless.”
The ACNC (Australian Charities and not-for-profits Commission) website has a wealth of information on charities and not-for-profit organisations and is your best starting point for research.
We love hearing your thoughts and ideas.
In the spirit of honesty, we’re a very busy organisation, which means we're often severely limited with time and capacity.
So, what we’d ask is that if you're interested in discussing a partnership, proposal, idea (etc.) that as a basic start point you please put a brief pitch or document together with very clear outlines as to who you are, what you're thinking, what your objectives are, and why you'd like to work with us. Please also include your website or social handles and all the basic links and info.
You are welcome to email your detailed pitch and proposal to us via admin@soberinthecountry.org and we'll have a look when we can and if there is alignment and a path forward, we will get in touch with you.
** Please note: as a rule, we don’t cross-promote or do plugs on our social media, rather, we just organically share and acknowledge others doing what we believe is valuable.
Alcohol free beer, wine, and spirits are among the fastest-growing markets in the beverage industry globally.
Just Google the search words “zero alcohol” or “AF” drinks and prepare to be blown away. New accounts, options, manufacturers, marketers and influencers in this space are almost impossible to keep up with. They literally crop up by the dozen overnight.
While “AF” drinks can certainly be a good fit and option for some folks in some scenarios, please be aware that they're actually a massive potential trigger and danger-zone for others because of how accurately they replicate the look, taste, smell, and even the 5 o'clock “ritual” of alcohol.
Also – please be aware that “zero alcohol” drinks can have a small percentage of alcohol still present and still be legally marketed as “0%.” Neither us or anyone else can tell you what to do or what not to do, but we can absolutely confirm these drinks are linked to relapses for some people.
SO: we strongly suggest you proceed down this path with immense caution, do your own research and investigation and make an informed decision. We’d also suggest that, if in doubt, you avoid them completely and seek an alternative such as sparkling water with lemon or lime.
We often get asked if our founder, Shan, has a few minutes to discuss business ideas with like-minded people in the AOD space.
While she wishes she could say “yes” to everyone and talk shop all day, it’s not that simple in an already packed schedule and hectic workload.
So what we'd kindly ask is that you please put together a brief document outlining exactly what you’d like to discuss and why, and to give us a sense of the key points about your discussion and what you'd like to achieve (etc., etc.) so that we at least understand your starting point so we can determine whether we are aligned and what / where / how our discussion might unfold.
We'd really appreciate your help with that, first.
Then, once you've done that homework and prepared your document, just drop us a message and we’ll be in touch if and when we’re able.
Thanks a squillion.
At Sober in the Country, we’re changing the narrative around booze in the bush. We have a simple message and a bold vision: a future where every single one of our rural and remote mates – from farmers to FIFO workers – always know it’s #OK2SAYNO to booze.
- As a national charity, we’re creating radical social change that’s saving the lives of remote and rural Australians affected by alcohol harm via our advocacy, straight talk, sharing our lived-experience, and partnerships with leading Alcohol and Drug (AOD) organisations. We don’t believe in waiting until rock bottom or crisis hits to help a mate.
- Our founder and CEO Shanna Whan (2022 Australian of the Year recipient) also travels and advocates as a keynote speaker, panelist, and TV guest at a national level.
- Additionally, we offer an online peer-to-peer support group called The Bush Tribe that is strictly for rural and remote Australians choosing to cut back or quit alcohol. The Bush Tribe is very closely moderated and carefully monitored, and users have optional anonymity. The Bush Tribe is NOT a program nor representing a program: we encourage our members to simply share safely and support each other while investigating a range of options and what works best for them.
- Finally, we share and tell stories that amplify the impact of our work. Head here to watch our Amplification Project videos, where some of our rural mates share their powerful, relatable stories of hope after choosing a life with less or no booze.
We are effectively casting a virtual net across rural Australia to ensure we ''do what we can with what we have'' to catch our mates, upstream, before they fall into the river of alcohol harm, misuse, and addiction.
Sometimes - those we catch need a great deal more than peer-support and a safe place to talk. And, so, while Sober in the Country is not a funded service provider, we are now aligned with and working alongside leading national Australian organisations who specialise in alcohol (and drug) harm. These organisations have the staff, capacity, funding and resources to help our most vulnerable, including: free phone counselling, home-based tele-health detoxing, and more. You can find resources and links to further clinical help and support here.
If you're new here it's imperative you understand we are a charity that is not a program or service provider. We work as advocates and offer an online peer support group – our Bush Tribe (for rural people). We aren't a replacement for clinical, medical, or professional support, and we do not provide one-on-one counselling or services.
However, if you click on our "Need Support" button top right of every page, you'll find the contact details for urgent and non-urgent support from organisations that offer services including free phone or text counselling, supported clinical bush telehealth detoxes, counselling, sober coaching and more. And in our various Support and Resources pages you can find in our menu, you can find out more about joining our Bush Tribe, access a range of resources, and recommended external organisations that can provide you with the support you are seeking.
While Shan dearly wishes she could support every single person who reaches out - it simply isn't physically possible. She is increasingly time-poor and carrying an enormous load and has to be incredibly careful to have boundaries in place to protect her mental health.
Shanna speaks publicly through Sober in the Country's advocacy work and is very active (daily) as a lived-experience expert in our Bush Tribe.
She has, over the years, shared the intimate details of her story countless times on a huge range of national and international media platforms - so you can catch that on Our Media Over the Years page at your leisure.
No.
In short: Sober in the Country is not a funded service provider, nor do we work in a one-on-one capacity or as a drug or alcohol counselling service.
We are a small charitable organisation, and our purpose lies in awareness, advocacy, and peer-to-peer support (via our online Bush Tribe) only.
However our absolute aim is to ensure those in need get to support as soon as possible. That's why we are linked in and partnered with other large organisations who do have the government funding, staff, and capacity for service provision, counselling, and more.
All of this is listed on our website under our Support and Resources pages for you that you can find in our menu.
We strongly recommend you look through all the information. Help is available.
Simply visit our Donate page.
There are also other ways you can show your support – and you'll find them on our Get Involved page and our #OK2SAYNO page as well
Thank you! We only exist because of donations like yours.
Please note: We are a charity with Deductible Gift Recipient (DGR) status, which means any donations you make to Sober in Country are tax deductible.
Just visit our Bush Tribe page, or go straight to the form, fill it out and submit it. We will take a day or two to get back to you (as we manually process and check all applications).
The reason we ask new members to fill out a form is for privacy and protection: two things we are fiercely strict on.
Please remember: this is a peer-support group for for rural and remote people only.
If you're from the city or a large regional area, you can find a number of organisations we work alongside and recommend that offer online peer support groups that can help you via our Need Support tab and our Support to Cut Back or Quit Alcohol page.
No. The Bush Tribe is simply a peer-to-peer support group with the option for anonymity for those who need it.
The Bush Tribe is not affiliated with any organisation or program. As our philosophy is strictly based in our belief that ''there is no one size for all'' ... we don't tell, or judge, or instruct: we simply stand by our friend choosing to drink less or not at all. Members share their stories and listen to others' stories, provide encouragement and share resources they've found useful.
Our hundreds of Bush Tribe members are people from all walks of life, all ages (minimum 18 years of age and up), and all beliefs. And while our members all do their own 'thing' in terms of programs or structured support alongside the peer-support they give and receive via the Bush Tribe, it is a requirement of joining that our members each commit to finding the right structured support for them as well (e.g. via SMART Recovery, AA, This Naked Mind, etc.).
Just visit our Approved Content for Hosts & Media page where you will find a media content kit or head down to the bottom of the website in our footer where you'll find a link to contact us.
We have been asked this frequently, and while we wish we could say "yes" immediately .... it's not as simple as it sounds.
In time, Sober in the Country will be seeking more official brand ambassadors, volunteers and speakers, but our first priority is to ensure we have the right funding, governance, and legalities in place for our current advocacy work and initiatives. But in the future, as we grow, we will be seeking to expand the number of Sober in the Country volunteers and speakers.
So please watch this space!
But there are heaps of ways you can support us in the meantime, and they're outlined for you on our Get Involved page.
Sober in the Country's main purpose is to support the person fighting the addiction, but we do plan on creating a rural peer support space online for family members soon.
The great news is that there are already excellent resources and online anonymous support options available for friends and family worried about a loved one affected by alcohol harm. Click on our Need Support button at the top of the page or head to our Support for Family and Friends page where you'll find links to support organisations and resources that can help you.
Whether you wish to donate, join our #OK2SAYNO campaign, support our projects, fundraise, or share your own story...
the best ways to easily support us are covered on the Get Involved section of the website, but please feel free to Contact Us if you have an idea outside the square, such as a fundraiser, etc.
In short, no.
'Sober in the City' is already well and truly happening all across Australia, by many other names, pages, organisations, and charities.
We have never been interested in re-inventing a wheel: we exist to recalibrate the wheel for bush conditions.
So we'll let the legends doing important work in the city keep doing that, and we will stay focused on what we do best: supporting remote and rural Australians affected by alcohol harm.
Absolutely!!
Our passion lies in amplifying messages and voices like yours from all across the bush. Whether you spent a month booze-free or you've decided to quit for good, we'd love to share your stories and your progress.
We have a form for you to fill out and send to us that explains best format, length, and more.
Just head to our Book Shanna page and submit an enquiry there.
All our speaker event fees go direct to the charity and are a tax-deductible expense.
Please be aware that Shanna's time is increasingly booked up, so early bookings and long lead times are vital.
We have a great range of merchandise from stubby coolers and stickers to trucker caps to bucket hats, tanks, tees and winter sleeves.
Just visit our online store here.
PLEASE send us your merch photos to share!
NOTE: what we have in stock is what is on the website. If you're chasing something you've seen online and it's no there, it's sold out, sorry.
We receive a lot of emails asking Shanna's advice on starting a charity along with a lot of ''how to'' questions ...
While Shan deeply wishes she could support everyone starting out, she does not have the capacity for additional pro-bono advisory support.
However, if you listen in to her years and years worth of very frank media and podcasting, Shanna does discuss starting a charity across these various mediums, so that will be helpful.
What she'd love you to know is that founding and creating Sober in the Country was nothing simple or linear, and has taken the better part of a decade to figure out how to get sober and then start a charity and build it into something with a broader team that is growing and making radical social change and increasingly saving the lives of rural Australians affected by alcohol harm.
One day, Shanna plans to write a book about these experiences (she began her memoir this year and hopes to release it in 2025). But, in her words, getting Sober in the Country off the ground ''just came down to nothing more complicated than trying, failing, and being relentless.''
The ACNC (Australian Charities and not-for-profits Commission) website has a wealth of information on charities and not-for-profit organisations and is your best starting point for research.
We love hearing your thoughts and ideas.
In the spirit of honesty, we're a very busy organisation, which means we're often severely limited with time and capacity.
So, what we'd ask is that if you're interested in discussing a partnership, proposal, idea (etc.) that as a basic start point you please put a brief pitch or document together with very clear outlines as to who you are, what you're thinking, what your objectives are, and why you'd like to work with us. Please also include your website or social handles and all the basic links and info.
You are welcome to email your detailed pitch and proposal to us via admin@soberinthecountry.org and we'll have a look when we can and if there is alignment and a path forward, we will get in touch with you.
** Please note: as a rule, we don't cross-promote or do plugs on our social media, rather, we just organically share and acknowledge others doing what we believe is valuable.
Alcohol free beer, wine, and spirits are among the fastest-growing markets in the beverage industry globally.
Just Google the search words ''zero alcohol'' or ''AF'' drinks and prepare to be blown away. New accounts, options, manufacturers, marketers and influencers in this space are almost impossible to keep up with. They literally crop up by the dozen overnight.
While ''AF'' drinks can certainly be a good fit and option for some folks in some scenarios, please be aware that they're actually a massive potential trigger and danger-zone for others because of how accurately they replicate the look, taste, smell, and even the 5 o'clock 'ritual' of alcohol.
Also - please be aware that 'zero alcohol' drinks can have a small percentage of alcohol still present and still be legally marketed as ''0%.''Neither us or anyone else can tell you what to do or what not to do, but we can absolutely confirm these drinks are linked to relapses for some people.
SO: we strongly suggest you proceed down this path with immense caution, do your own research and investigation and make an informed decision. We'd also suggest that, if in doubt, yoavoid them completely and seek an alternative such as sparkling water with lemon or lime.
We often get asked if our founder, Shan, has a few minutes to discuss business ideas with like-minded people in the AOD space.
While she wishes she could say "yes" to everyone and talk shop all day, it's not that simple in an already packed schedule and hectic workload.
So what we'd kindly ask is that you please put together a brief document outlining exactly what you'd like to discuss and why, and to give us a sense of the key points about your discussion and what you'd like to achieve (etc., etc.) so that we at least understand your starting point so we can determine whether we are aligned and what / where / how our discussion might unfold.
We'd really appreciate your help with that, first.
Then, once you've done that homework and prepared your document, just drop us a message via the contact us link in our footer and we'll be in touch if and when we're able.
Thanks a squillion.
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