College Students in Recovery: Stories of Hope MOLLY MOORE, M.ED. JULIE MATSUNAGA, M.A. MELANIE IARUSSI, PHD

Taylor’s Story

Who are you?? A. Senior Level Administrator B. Entry Level Professional C. Graduate Student D. Undergraduate Student E. Other

Where do you work? A. University Setting B. Treatment Facility C. Hospital D. Student E. Other

Auburn Recovery Community (ARC)  Request from Board of Trustee Member  Outlined Initial Planning Year (9/2011-8/2012)  Started with 4 students in recovery Current:  8-12 dedicated students  On-campus AA and NA meetings  Recovery Night  Sunday Seminar  Social Work Internship Program  Association of Students in Recovery

ARC Current Challenges/Opportunities  Our Own Identity  Students  Current Needs vs Perceptions  Sober Housing  Space  Learning Community- Seminar Class  1 credit, open door to res life  Numbers  Fundraising  Dispelling Myths

A college student Studying Employment Extra Curricular Activities Social Life Finances Class time Greek life Tests Athletics Stigma Promoting awareness Sponsor Overall wellness Meetings Relationships and recovery Recovery & work Sobriety in recovery

Functional Support “Social resources that persons perceive to be available or that are actually provided to them by nonprofessionals in the context of both formal support groups and informal helping relationships” Cohen, Gottlieb, & Underwood, 2000, p.4

Functional Support Harris, Kimball, Casiraghi, & Maison, 2014

Stories of Hope: Qualitative Research Project  “What are the experiences of college students who are in recovery?”  Two interviews were conducted with each participant

Navigating the Stigma of Addiction “It’s not something I talk about with classmates. It’s not something that I try to hide or that I’m ashamed of. I just feel that there are a lot of misunderstandings, a lot of prejudices about it. … If I have the opportunity to be helpful then I have no problems disclosing that. But, if there’s the chance that I’m going to be misunderstood then I probably don’t.”

Balancing Recovery with Multiple Roles and Responsibilities “Balancing schedules is always sometimes a little tricky. I have to make sure I have time for my meetings and calling my sponsor, which I think maybe people who aren’t in recovery don’t have to process or think about really.”

The Impact of Recovery on Academics and Work “At 28 days [sober] I was at my boss’s house with a drink in my hand and I let it sit there for like 15 minutes and I realized that there was no way I was going to stay sober and work there so I quit the next day.”

Changes in Relationships as a Result of Recovery “I didn’t really find a network of young people so I went back out, I drank again and it was really difficult because I thought that I could hang out with the same people because I didn’t really find support otherwise.”

Enhancing Overall Wellness “It is something that came up that I had to deal with. … one problem gets some progress on it and then something else comes up. I think it speaks to the multifacets of addiction.”

Utilization of and Recommendation for Recovery-Based Services and Resources “That was the biggest struggle for me was making the transition from a very active recovery life to a community that isn’t that active. And I felt like something was missing here.”

Challenges  Lack of awareness of CRCs  Prevents expansion of programs  Others may not understand what recovery entails or may not be aware of current prevalence of substance use or abuse in college students  The need for CRC needs to be clear  Reach out to other departments, offices, programs  Form connections  Advocacy DePue & Hagedorn, 2015

Challenges and Opportunities  Priorities  Recovery vs. Academics  Residence Halls  Funding  On-campus meetings  Academic Support  Space  Financial support  Service to others Bell et al., 2009

Questions??

Contact Us Molly Moore, M.Ed. Coordinator, Alcohol and Drug Prevention Services Julie Matsunaga Coordinator, Auburn Recovery Community Melanie Iarussi Associate Professor, Auburn University

References Bell, N. J., Kantikar, K., Kerksiek, K. A., Watson, W., Das, A., Kostina-Ritchey, E., &... Harris, K. (2009). "It Has Made College Possible for Me": Feedback on the impact of a university-based center for students in recovery. Journal of American College Health, 57(6), Cleveland, H. H., Harris, K. S., Baker, A. K., Herbert, R., & Dean, L. R. (2007). Characteristics of a collegiate recovery community: Maintaining recovery in an abstinence-hostile environment. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 33, Cohen, S., Gottlieb, B. H., & Underwood, L. G. (2000). Social relationships and health. In S. Cohen, L. G. Underwood, B. H. Gottlieb, S. Cohen, L. G. Underwood, & B. H. Gottlieb (Eds.), Social support measurement and intervention: A guide for health and social scientists (pp. 3–25). New York, NY: Oxford University Press. DePue, M. K., & Hagedorn, W. B. (2015). Facilitating college students' recovery through the use of collegiate recovery programs. Journal of College Counseling, 18(1), Harris, K. S., Kimball, T. G., Casiraghi, A. M., & Maison, S. J. (2014). Collegiate recovery programs. Peabody Journal of Education, 89(2), SAMHSA. (2014). Results from the 2013 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: Summary of national findings. Accessed July 4,