Young adults in Queensland are taking matters into their own hands when it comes to providing alcohol-free events that foster stronger friendships and better mental health.
From sunrise to sunset, opportunities are being created for young people to make meaningful connections during the working week.
In Mackay, 23-year-old Brianna Underhill was sick of feeling like she had to live in a city to join such an event.
She took inspiration from a group on the Gold Coast, which meets once a week at sunrise for an ocean swim and coffee.
"Mackay needed something people can do throughout the week," Ms Underhill said.
"This is the kind of environment that promotes healthy living and a healthy mind and body.
"Everyone always promotes things on the weekend. We needed a simple and effective program that boosted people's mid-weeks and connected them to others."
She calls it "Rise and Mind," and it's something TJ Kerr now goes to most Wednesday mornings.
"It's really hard to make friends outside of drinking …, especially as a young adult," she said.
"It's really good to have someone that you haven't met through drinking or drugs."
Ms Kerr said she had always felt like she could only look forward to the weekend.
"I love coming to Wednesdays … you're surrounded by so many people with good vibes," she said.
"We're not afraid to ask anyone how their week is going and for someone to say well, kind of shit actually … it's like therapy."
Abby Breakwell, a mental health practitioner in Mackay, said she had noticed an increasing number of young people reaching out on local Facebook sites to make friends and organise meet-ups.
"Some of the barriers I've noticed have been financial difficulties and mental health issues such as anxiety," she said.
"There's quite a culture of drinking in Mackay … a lot of young people look for drinking buddies."
Ms Breakwell said meeting friends at the pub could easily become the norm.
"There doesn't seem to be many events that are focused on being sober, safe spaces," she said.
"One of the issues is when there are other events on, they might not be marketed well enough for young people."
Catching on from city startups
Kai Kelly started his own initiative in Burleigh about five months ago.
His group, Sunset Crew, meets at sunset for conversations centred around a different topic each week.
"We really wanted to create a space where people could come and meet each other and really felt part of a community," he said.
"It's an opportunity to deep dive beyond small talk.
"That's become our slogan, moving past the, 'Hey, how's it going?' and asking questions that matter."
Mr Kelly said he had been able to get at least 30 people showing up just through word of mouth and an Instagram account.
"Coming out of COVID, everyone was quite isolated," he said
"There's tonnes of people out there, whether they are nervous or don't know how to go about it … Sunset
Crew acts as a space to welcome a heap of different people from different walks of life."
Drinking less the way to better health
Eleanor Costello from the Alcohol and Drug Foundation said it was time to really examine Australian drinking culture.
Ms Costello hopes a national convention underway in Canberra will help address the way young adults interact with alcohol.
"It's kind of ingrained in how we've all grown up … particularly in regional areas, sometimes the pub is the only place you can meet people," Ms Costello said.
"When you drink, it can consume so much of your life.
"Drinking alcohol when you're that age [18-25] not only has increased risk of injury but it does affect the way your neural pathways develop."
Ms Costello said alcohol was a class one carcinogen.
"It turns into acid aldehyde, and it's also the reason we wake up with hangovers and makes us feel unwell," Ms Costello said.
"We also know that drinking less will improve things like concentration, sleep, fitness, not to mention having better relationships."
Connection is an important part of growing up and Ms Costello said there were some great trends popping up around the country.
"We're seeing young people actively seeking out things that you know improve their fitness, health and wellbeing," she said.
"I heard one person say once, I want to get to a point where I'm looking forward to Monday.
"Going down to the beach and swimming in cold water, that sort of stuff … it's actually really good for you."
The Alcohol and Drug Foundation works with more than 1,500 community organisations across Australia, of which 50 per cent are in regional and remote communities.
"Distance can be a really big challenge for getting people together," she said.
"… A lot of local councils have really stepped up to try and make those things more accessible."
