Connections

Finding sobriety during the pandemic

By Evan Dawson,

Published April 5, 2022 at 2:18 PM EDT

Racquel Stephen on "Connections with Evan Dawson" on April 5, 2022

According to the U.S. National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, sales of alcohol increased by 20 to 40 percent during the pandemic.

WXXI's Racquel Stephen spoke with several local people who have either found or advocated for sobriety over the last two years. We talk with her about her reporting, and our guests share their stories:

Racquel Stephen, health/environment reporter for WXXI News
Meg Hartman, co-founder of AltBar
Jon Westfall, executive director of ROCovery Fitness

Connections

Evan Dawson

Evan Dawson is the host of "Connections with Evan Dawson." He joined WXXI in January 2014 after working at 13WHAM-TV, where he served as morning news anchor. He was hired as a reporter for 13WHAM-TV in 2003 before being promoted to anchor in 2007.

See stories by Evan Dawson

Megan Mack

Megan Mack is the executive producer of "Connections with Evan Dawson" and live/televised engagement programming.

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Racquel Stephen

Racquel Stephen is a health and environment reporter. She holds a bachelor's degree in English literature from the University of Rochester and a master's degree in broadcasting and digital journalism from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University.

See stories by Racquel Stephen