How a mum's toxic battle with drink led to the opening of an alcohol-free bar

Humans of Chelmsford

On episode three of the second series of Humans of Chelmsford we meet Wendy Sillett, the owner of Chelmsford’s non-alcohol bar Abstinence.
Abstinence opened up in the city in December 2018 and represents what has become Wendy’s ambition for the past couple of years, to open a non-alcohol venue to give people an alternative location to go out without the pressure of alcohol.
At the heart of it is Wendy’s own long battle with alcohol, a relationship that became toxic and damaging.
Not only did it affect her but it affected those around her from friends to family.
However, the wake-up call Wendy needed was a run-in with the police and here we are today and she has been sober for four years.
Now her sole focus is on running Abstinence but keeping a new bar open does have its difficulties.
Mounting financial costs are proving a threat, Wendy has had to go back to working full time in order to keep money coming in.
Earlier in the year she also asked for help via a Just Giving page to help keep Abstinence open.
Without it the bar could have had to close its doors at the end of April.
Brought to you by Essex Live, Humans of Chelmsford is a podcast about inspiring people with incredible tales from across the city.
Each show we uncover the stories you never knew existed about fellow Chelmsford residents and their lives.
Music in this episode is from Broke For Free.
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You can find out more about Abstinence Bar here.
If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this podcast you can contact Open Road or Alcoholics Anonymous. For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy

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