How nonprofit Today’s Sober Women builds a lifeline of hope with SMS

“ We’re not just pushing out messages. We also want to receive messages so we can have a connection with the people that we’re texting, and that was unique to SimpleTexting’s platform.”

Bridget Garrelts LCPC, CADC, Co-Founder & Executive Director at Today’s Sober Women

For women navigating the path of sobriety, recovery doesn’t just happen in scheduled meetings. It happens in the quiet, challenging moments of everyday life.

With this in mind, Bridget Garrelts, LCPC, CADC, co-founded Today’s Sober Women during the COVID-19 pandemic to counter the intense isolation affecting those in recovery.

Today’s Sober Women is a non-profit organization that offers a therapist-led support program. Initially, they built a community of nearly 50,000 on Facebook, but engagement remained low.

“You’re not going to share about a recent relapse on a social media post that can be seen by millions of people,” Bridget said.

The platform wasn’t conducive to the privacy and safety women needed to feel comfortable sharing their deepest struggles and victories. The organization needed a communication channel that could foster genuine, one-to-one relationships and provide a truly safe space for connection.

Today’s Sober Women chose text messaging for its privacy and immediacy. Through its Recovery Help Texts program, the organization delivers grounding messages, coping strategies, and encouragement to women across the U.S.

While looking for an SMS service provider, Bridget and her team came across SimpleTexting, now a Sinch company, and knew it had the tools they needed to build the Recovery Help Texts program. SimpleTexting’s two-way messaging capabilities solidified their decision.

“ We’re not just pushing out messages. We also want to receive messages so we can have a connection with the people that we’re texting,” Bridget said, “and that was unique to SimpleTexting’s platform.”

Every week, Bridget leverages her clinical expertise to write two to four short messages of encouragement and helpful resources. The SimpleTexting platform allows her to schedule texts, and members often say that the texts come when they’re needed the most.

“One of the most important things for anyone really in recovery is that solid support, especially in the beginning,” Bridget said. “So the more support that you have around a person, the more likely they are to succeed and do well.”

When a woman replies — whether it’s to share a struggle, celebrate a milestone, or simply send a heart emoji — Bridget can easily respond from the SimpleTexting dashboard. This direct engagement lets the women know they aren’t alone and offers a confidential lifeline that builds trust and supports sustained recovery.

The shift to a text-first strategy transformed the organization’s ability to deliver meaningful support. Testimonials overwhelmingly state that the program has helped them stay sober.

The private, trusted nature of the text conversations has also helped the team to identify women in crisis and refer them to critical social services for housing, food, and local support.

Holidays are especially difficult for those rebuilding sober lives. For the 2025 holiday season, Sinch is proud to support Today’s Sober Women to keep the messages flowing at a critical time of year for those in recovery.

 “We’re just so grateful for Sinch’s holiday support and for the SimpleTexting platform, where we can engage with women and build that connection,” Bridget said.