LOUISVILLE, Ky. — When Louisville shop owner Arielle Clark dreamed of her tea shop, she knew in her heart it needed to be a safe space.

“Yeah, absolutely. So first things first, we’re a sober business that’s LGBTQ-affirming and Black-affirming,” Clark said.

So after years of hard work, she opened Sis Got Tea in mid-April.

“We’re also Black-owned and LGBTQ-owned and woman-owned. So we are intentional about creating this safe, affirming space, particularly for sober people. Because the LGBTQ community is very, very steeped in alcohol culture,” Clark said.

In creating this space, she realized Louisville lacked a safe, sober space for LGBTQ+ people, especially those battling an addiction facing access to resources.

“So in our bathroom, we actually have free menstrual products. We have both pads and tampons. We also have free Plan B,” Clark said. “We also have free fentanyl testing strips.”

The items on the bathroom shelf are mostly donated by the Kentucky Health Justice Network and Louisville Coffee Co-op.

“Just because you don’t have the funds or it cost me a lot of money, that doesn’t mean you don’t deserve access to these things that are low barrier,” Clark said.

She’s hoping to break these barriers while tea steeps on the side.

“Our goal isn’t to make millions of dollars, open multiple locations. Our goal is just to be a community space to give sober LGBTQ folks, sober Black folks, a place where they can feel safe and feel accountable and also have a sober environment and it’s not about making all this money. So if it costs money to provide a low to no-barrier service or item, I’m going to do it,” Clark said.

The owner said they’re planning to host events that are sober. They’ve also added Narcan to their bathroom shelf as another resource.

Starting this month, they’ve also extended their hours of business for anyone needing access to their resources.