Hi Friend,

While April’s Alcohol Responsibility Month has come to a close, responsibility remains top-of-mind as we collectively fight COVID-19. For nearly two months, you and your loved ones have been asked to do your part to “flatten the curve” of COVID-19, helping to keep hospitals from being overrun and the most vulnerable among us from falling ill.

Collective responsibility, while noble, is not always an easy task. You may feel like someone took all your life’s stressors (paying bills, job security, great education for your children, sanitation, securing supplies, keeping up and innovating at work, being a good partner), tossed them in a pressure cooker, sealed the lid and cranked the heat.

To cope and survive, we must find ways to manage these new challenges and release some of that pressure. While doing so, it is critical that we continue releasing stress in constructive, responsible ways. As we shared earlier this month, we’ve compiled a running list of resources to help positively manage stress, which you can access here. Yet, we wanted to take this opportunity to reinforce how important personal responsibility remains in times like these – when time-of-day seems to lose its meaning, our home bar cabinets have been filled in preparation for home isolation, the kids are home all day, every day watching every move we make, or we’re home alone with no one to notice the  stress of the current circumstances wearing on us.

During this already stressful time, it is important to double down on healthy, restorative behaviors – getting enough sleep, eating right, exercising, socializing with friends, trying to maintain routines as best you can. This is not the time to reach for a drink, overeat, abuse drugs, or even drive a little faster on the empty streets. This is a time to prioritize personal responsibility, now more than ever.

Celebrate a work win, a completed house project, finding toilet paper on the grocery run this week – life’s happy moments -- with a drink if you choose. Be mindful, drinking responsibly and in moderation, if you choose to drink, and remember that responsibility starts with each of us. Learn what responsibility means to our President & CEO Chris Swonger and Arlington County, Virginia, Police Officer Jim Mastoras. Chris explains how his motivation to be a strong advocate for responsible drinking comes from his role as a parent of two young sons, and Officer Mastoras spells out how it takes a community to keep everyone safe.

Click the image below to watch and share their stories.

Stay responsible, stay healthy and stay home,

--The Responsibility.org Team