This fall, DU opened its Collegiate Recovery Community (CRC) to provide recovery support for students in pursuit of sobriety. As described by the Association of Recovery in Higher Education (ARHE), collegiate recovery “is support for students in recovery from addiction seeking a degree in higher education. It can consist of campus-based infrastructure to support recovering students by sharing the goals of providing support, preventing relapse and promoting academic performance. It can also consist of a community to the student population participating in recovery on campus through peer support.”
According to CRC Coordinator Dylan Dunn, at DU there are about 180 students already seeking help for their relationship with alcohol and drugs. “We have already been in contact with 20 students,” he said.
Having a space such as the CRC is rare in the country. As reported in the Denver Post, less than five percent of colleges and universities in the U.S. have recovery-focused programs. Overall, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there have been more than 72,000 drug overdose deaths estimated in 2017. Nationwide deaths related to synthetic opioids have had the sharpest increase in 2017 compared to other drugs, according to the same study.
Dunn explains that college campuses can be an abstinence-hostile environment. “College in general is described a lot as recovery hostile, meaning that we center alcohol and drug use as just part of life in college. We don’t often tell the stories of students for whom that’s not an option.” He hopes to remove any negative stigma that students in recovery may face.
Resources that the CRC will offer include a community lounge, alcohol and drug free social events, support meetings, peer mentoring and educational seminars and events. During regular office hours, students can use the space to relax or work. After regular hours on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, there will be weekly meetings. As described on their website, Mondays will host the all-recovery meeting. Wednesdays will be a general meeting discussing ideas on how to make the university more recovery supportive. On Fridays, students will be invited for hang out over breakfast or lunch, reflect on the week and make plans for the weekend.
The CRC is partially due to the passing of Jonathan Winnefeld, who accidently overdosed last year during orientation week. Since the tragic event, Winnefeld’s parents, Mary and retired Navy Admiral James “Sandy” Winnefeld, Jr., have been strong advocates for preventing similar happenings and shining a light on the opioid epidemic. They created the S.A.F.E Project and won the ARHE Recovery Champions Award this year for their actions towards the cause. At the CRC, there will be a plaque honoring Jonathan.
“My biggest message that I try to communicate to students is that we… are a space that wants to be supportive of students in recovery – knowing that they are students. They’re not ‘these’ people that are broken down kind of like the vision we all kind of have of people in AA [alcoholics anonymous] in the basement of churches,” he explains.
The CRC is set to finish its construction this week. It has a living room, study space, kitchen, a director’s office, two additional rooms in the basement and an open backyard near the Ritchie center. Regular office hours are from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Students can find the space at 1931 S. York street. For additional times and information, visit https://www.du.edu/health-and-counseling-center/collegiate-recovery/index.html.
