A new community group focused on supporting members of the LGBTQ+ community through their addiction recovery journeys will begin meeting biweekly, starting this Wednesday.

Rainbow to Recovery meetings will be held at 7 p.m. on the first and third Wednesdays of the month in the basement of the Webster County Health Department building, 723 First Ave. S.

The group’s organizers aren’t looking to replace Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous or other 12-step programs — they just want to supplement that support by creating a safe space for members of the LGBTQ+ community to be with others who share that commonality.

“A lot of the programs that are in place right now are very, very gendered,” Cordin Herrick, a founding member of this new group, said. “So for non-binary people or people who fall outside of the general gender ‘norms,’ that can be really difficult. It can be very off-putting and a hindrance to recovery.”

The idea for a recovery support group for people in the LGBTQ+ community has been something Riley Walstrom has been wanting to take action on for a few years. With help from Herrick, Marissa Nichols and Sarah SmallCarter — and support from the Webster County Health Department — he was able to take that idea and give it life.

“I personally have had struggles with my sobriety in the AA and NA community as an LGBT person, so we wanted to have a group that focuses on the queer community and the unique needs that our recoveries have,” Herrick said. “A safe, sober space for the queers of Fort Dodge, Webster County and the surrounding area.”

Herrick said he came to Fort Dodge to receive treatment through Community and Family Resources because CFR is a trans safe space with two gender non-conforming rooms for inpatient addiction treatment.

“A lot of LGBT people face higher incidence of substance abuse issues, disproportionately, for a variety of reasons,” said SmallCarter. “One is that LGBT people are less likely to have supportive family structures, which can lead to substance abuse issues as a negative coping skill.”

She noted that in many communities, the only safe spaces for LGBTQ+ people to freely be themselves are in bars and other alcohol and drug-based spaces.

“So that can lead to addiction,” SmallCarter said.

The group’s meetings will start with a meditation, followed by a discussion and open sharing. The group is open to all ages, including teens looking for recovery support. During meetings, a staff member from the Webster County Health Department will also be on hand to help connect people to more recovery resources in the community.

The group also welcomes people in recovery from self-harm and eating disorders.

“We just want to be somewhere that LGBT people can come that are struggling with addiction in any form,” Nichols said.