The talk we had to have. Shanna Whan on the epidemic that is alcoholism.

“Courage is contagious” - Shanna Whan

In episode 3 of Season 2, In The Drivers Seat, we are joined by Shanna Whan. Shanna Whan is the founder, force, and CEO behind nationally recognised bush charity Sober in the Country. Against all odds, Shanna made it back from the brink of her own battle with end-stage alcohol addiction in isolation, minus support. She's now a respected lived-experience ambassador, spokesperson and leader who is fighting for others while constantly challenging the status quo and creating vast social impact in the process.

Shanna Whan is a national personality pioneering unprecedented social impact around alcohol awareness, education and change in rural and remote Australia. She advocates and fights for those who 'stick their hand up' and acknowledge they need a hand overcoming addiction in isolation but simply cannot get help or ongoing support in a timely manner that makes sense for them, thanks partly to geographic isolation and also due to the massive barriers such as stigmas that still abound in rural communities. 

Her philosophy - and now SITC's charity philosophy - is deeply rooted in the famous Desmond Tutu quote that ''there comes a time when we need to stop pulling people out of the river when they've already drowned - and go upstream and find out why they're falling in.'' 

Shanna is going upstream and working to catch an entire overlooked demographic of hard working, rural men and women and fighting fiercely for change and support in this sector. 

Website - https://www.soberinthecountry.org/team

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/soberinthecountry

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/sober_in_the_country/

Donate -  https://www.soberinthecountry.org/helpingout

Australian Story Interview ‘Last Drinks’ - https://www.abc.net.au/austory/last-drinks/11705194