Recovery runs on connection. We make the call.
Crosstalk Recovery, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that provides a free smartphone application to the addiction recovery community, built to help alcoholics and addicts stay sober through social connection. At a time you choose, the app calls you and connects you with a supportive peer in recovery. You never have to dial. You only have to answer.
The hardest step is the easiest to skip
Ask almost anyone with time in recovery and they will tell you the same thing: staying sober is something people do together. Many recovery programs ask newcomers to call another alcoholic or addict every single day, because regular contact with peers is one of the strongest supports there is. The advice is sound. Following it is hard. Reaching out means choosing someone from a list, wondering whether you are interrupting, and, too often, hearing no answer at all. The recovery community has a name for how heavy that small device can feel: the 500-pound phone.
The stakes are anything but small. More than 48 million Americans aged 12 or older had a substance use disorder in the most recent national survey, and most of them received no treatment that year (SAMHSA, 2024). Excessive alcohol use is tied to roughly 178,000 deaths in the United States each year (CDC, 2024), and drug overdoses claimed more than 79,000 lives in 2024 (CDC NCHS). The research case for peer connection in recovery is strong, and we lay it out in full on our Why peers page.
What we provide
The Crosstalk app turns the daily peer call from a task into something that simply happens:
Step one
Choose your time
Pick the moment of the day when a conversation would help most. Many members choose the hour that used to be their hardest.
Step two
The app calls you
At that time, Crosstalk rings you along with other members in recovery who chose the same time. There is no list to work through and no number to dial.
Step three
Answer, and you are talking
Whoever answers is connected one-on-one with a supportive peer, each introduced by the name or nickname they chose. Answer, and you are guaranteed to speak with someone: backup members stand ready so that nobody answers into silence.
The service is free to the people who use it. Video is available when both people want it, and everything also works over an ordinary phone call. Groups get the same help: Crosstalk can ring an entire recovery group or treatment cohort into its regular call together, so staying in touch never depends on one dedicated volunteer.
Where we are today
Crosstalk Recovery is a young organization, and we would rather tell you exactly where things stand than dress it up. The Crosstalk platform is built and in beta testing, and we are preparing our first pilots with addiction treatment programs and peer recovery organizations. Those pilots will measure whether Crosstalk actually delivers the peer connection the research points to, and we will report what we find either way.
If you work with people in recovery and want to explore an early pilot, or you are in recovery yourself and want to be among the first members, we would like to hear from you.
Talk to a person
Write to us and a real person will read it and reply. Questions, pilots, partnerships, or just wanting the app when it is ready: all of it is welcome.