Collegiate Recovery Students and Programs: Literature Review from 1988-2017

Objectives: To present a review of the existing research on college students living in recovery, including the research on students in recovery participating in collegiate recovery programs.   Methods: Studies were included if they: a) were peer-reviewed or archived dissertations, b) were published between 1988 and 2017, c) directly involved students in recovery on campus, either with or without involvement in a collegiate recovery program. Results: From 1988 to 2017, 25 studies met the inclusion criteria. These included 7 studies on students living in recovery within the general framework of higher education and 18 studies involving students in collegiate recovery programs. Qualitative reports and quantitative descriptive studies were both included.  Conclusions: Findings identify the gaps in currently available research, and support rationale for increasing longitudinal and quantitative studies of collegiate recovery programs and the students they serve

Starting a Sober Dorm: Year One Challenges, Successes and Lessons Learned

This presentation is an examination of the pilot year of the Healthy Lifestyles Living Learning Community (HL LLC) substance-free housing option for incoming first year students sponsored by The Center for Students in Recovery at The University of Texas at Austin. Presenters will contextualize the history and unfulfilled need for recovery and sober student housing on the UT Austin campus, and will explore the development and implementation of a sober dorm from inception through the end of year one. Attendees will hear a candid assessment of expectations versus realities across multiple domains, including: the application process; selection of an initial cohort; the design and implementation of programming; the challenges of group cohesion and resident assistant empowerment; budget constraints; overall lessons learned; and considerations moving into year two

Social Media: The Meeting Before the Meeting

Now, more than ever, many students' first contact with your program very well could be from your social media presence. This roundtable will explore helpful communicating tips and tools to bridge the intergenerational gap between staff and students that will help participants engage students and introduce their program to a broader audience

Working with Latino Students in Recovery: Understanding Culture and the Role of Family

This presentation explores and reflects upon the presenter’s experiences after moving and adjusting to a new culture at a large university in deep-south Texas, on the US/Mexico border, and how those experiences align with current research available regarding cultural considerations in a therapeutic environment. The presentation reviews several case studies and their relationship to six important cultural considerations when working with Hispanic or Latino students. The presentation also explores the important role families play in the recovery process for Latino students involved in Collegiate Recovery Programs and recommendations for CRPs to assist in the involvement of families in programming. Attendees will learn how the presenter learned the importance of understanding the vital role culture plays in different recovery communities and how that affects students in or seeking recovery

Social Justice, Diversity & Inclusion Keynote: Are We There Yet? Gender Equity in Recovery Settings

Gender equity in recovery settings is the first topic we will tackle. Women represent just over 57% of the undergraduate college population in 2015 and are projected to climb to  58.8% of the total college population by 2024. While not as underrepresented as people of color in collegiate recovery programs (CRPs), women do make up a smaller share of CRP participants at 42.8%. While women are just as likely as men to become develop SUDs, they have lower rates of substance use and SUDs overall, and experience unique obstacles to treatment. Women of color may face additional obstacles and are at greater risk of being subjected to violence. We invite men, women, and transfolk alike to join our feminist recovery panel as we delve into issues of equity and inclusion. While some have deemed feminism, "the other "F" word, we will talk about how feminism benefits everyone. We bring an intersectional lens - realizing that no one shows up or experiences life through one aspect of identity. Our panelists will share from research, personal experience, and program data in order to describe how current societal structures inhibit the opportunities for women to get sober and work a program of recovery and the negative impact on men, collegiate recovery programs, higher education, and society as a whole. Considering an individual, group, and institutional framework for feminism, we hope to inspire attendees to challenge themselves to bring a feminist lens to their work to better create equity and access within collegiate recovery

Iron Sharpens Iron: A Student’s Perspective on Diversity Outreach

POWER (Providing the Outside World with Empowerment and Resources), a student organization within the Texas Tech’s Collegiate Recovery Program established December 2015, elaborated on their members experience when engaging in the important effort of diversity outreach to persons in recovery from substance and alcohol use disorders and eating disorders.  POWER describes their mission statement to provide a foundation and a voice for underrepresented individuals in recovery by delivering positive end results through opportunities for success with a vision to instill hope for a promising future. These members along with the director of the CCRC and another staff member shared what they have found to be most effective and ineffective when presenting to diverse groups in their community. The presenters provided educational and recovery resources used in reaching out but also the varying and tailored approaches and techniques utilized when conducting outreach work to specific marginalized populations.  These materials and techniques have been honed through many presentations and experience since 2015.  During their presentation, student leaders, and members of POWER, shared their own personal experiences of marginalization as well as their experience as presenters/peer leaders

Where do we come from, where are we now, and where are we going? The Evolution of Collegiate Recovery Science

Attendees will be provided with a brief history/timeline of collegiate recovery as a field, through the lens of research (with a focus on the explosive growth in knowledge in the last decade). This initial presentation will be followed by a synopsis of the current state of collegiate recovery science, focusing on recent studies in the field (CRP alumni survey; meta-reviews; and any large impact studies published in the last year up to month of the conference). The session will end with a presentation on the directions for the future, making clear calls that not only does the research need to continue and in what suggested ways, but also serving to inspire students to engage in the process as they are our best hope to continue the work in innovative ways we haven't thought of. The current landscape of collegiate recovery research and recovery science overall. Additionally, attendees will be able to describe future directions for this type of inquiry. &nbsp

Letter from the Editor - JORS Launches

We are excited to launch the Journal of Recovery Science in coordination with the Association of Recovery in Higher Education Annual Conference in Houston! The Journal of Recovery Science (JORS) is an open-access, peer-reviewed, international journal devoted to publishing original research in the area of behavioral health recovery. Accepted articles are published on a rolling basis with numbered issues released twice per year.&nbsp

Harnessing Student Leadership in Building a Center for Students in Recovery at a Private Catholic University in Central Texas

This presentation describes the different processes and steps taken by two faculty members from the social work department and a group of students to start a Center for Student Recovery (CSR) at a small private university in central Texas serving mostly first-generation Hispanic students. The presentation highlights the unique history of the university and how its mission and values align with the creation of a CSR, making it the first private catholic university with this type of service to its student population.  Additionally, the presentation showcases the different stages undergone by the stakeholders to get to the point of student involvement.  The stages include the social work department obtaining part of an SBIRT (Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment) grant which allowed for training to be embedded in certain classes which sparked conversations of substance and alcohol use among the student population. It also included a student health survey that provided a snapshot of the state of substance and alcohol use on campus, and the approval of a proposal presented to the University’s board of trustee and president. Emphasis is given to the process of recruiting the student leadership, the student’s motivation and their role in the creation of the CSR

Guilford County Solution to the Opioid Problem (GCSTOP): A Model for University/Community Partnerships

There were over 700 overdoses and 180 deaths from opioids in Guilford County, NC in 2017. The Guilford Solution to the Opioid Problem (GSTOP) project leverages funds allocated by the STOP-Act to design, implement, and evaluate a rapid response program intended to decrease mortality from opioid overdoses. The program engages citizens who overdose in harm reduction practices, distributes naloxone kits to high-risk users, conducts community health education, coordinates community resources through the CURE Triad collaborative, and builds relationships focused on ending opioid overdose. This presentation will review the development of the partnership between Guilford County Emergency Medical Services and the University of North Carolina at Greensboro that has resulted in the GSTOP demonstration project. The presentation included background on the opioid epidemic in Guilford County, the development of CURE Triad (a community coalition to address overdoses) and the implementation of GSTOP, the unique features of hosting such a program within a university, the evaluation design, and preliminary outcomes of the program