Christopher Tait may be best known for being the keyboard player with the band, Electric Six.
At the time the band was really taking off back in 2002, Tait says his life was a blur.
"Before I was even touring professionally, I was having issues. I couldn't even sleep without having a couple of drinks .. by the time I was 19," he says.
He was struggling with drug and alcohol addiction. Thanks to his dedication and a support system, Tait turned his life around and has been sober for 7 years now. He's also been working to help others like him.
In 2015, he founded Passenger, a Detroit-based non-profit providing safe environments for touring musicians and free transportation to recovery and support meetings when they're in Detroit on the road.
Now, Tait, who's a Detroit native, is expanding Passenger's services.
It's called Compass. It's a resource to find recovery meetings or local support services for mental health and addiction challenges. It's in beta form in southeast Michigan, but now there's a campaign to raise $10,000 and turn it into an app so its reach can expand across the country.
"We're trying to make it as easy as possible so that people, whereever they are in an unfamiliar area, they can look on this map, see what's around them. There are filters for times and types of meetings," says Tait.
He says they've raised $3,000 so far. He's confident they'll reach their goal and continue helping others on the road to sobriety.
"I can go anywhere in the country and sit down at an aa table or A-A or N-A- table and the people are different, but the struggle is the same .. and it really .. it's almost like a weight being lifted off your shoulders. It's hard to put into words how much that kind of support helps.
If you'd like to help with the Compass App Campaign, there are different ways you can do that. For more information, go to: https://www.patronicity.com/project/passenger__compass#!/
It runs until August 25th.
