![](https://edsource.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/UCB_046-1024x576.jpg)
UC Berkeley students at Berkeley's Sadder Road campus.
Credit: Alison Yin / EdSource
Patrick Acuña entered the University of California, Irvine as an undergraduate student. After recovering from methamphetamine and heroin use, he entered the UC system hoping to receive support as he embarked on a new academic and social journey. Acuña said maintaining his recovery is very important because he knows for sure that he “doesn't want to go back to the way it was.” That means he has to stay awake for several days while in a state of intoxication.
The normalization of drinking, drug use, and other potentially harmful behaviors on campus is a scary reality for people in recovery. This disconnection from healthy peers can be isolating and damaging, especially since community can serve as an essential support system. For students entering college, academic stress, in addition to new financial responsibilities, can increase the risk of relapse.
However, on-campus college recovery programs can help students overcome these pressures as part of the ongoing treatment essential to maintaining and solidifying recovery.
Unfortunately, UC Irvine lacked a university recovery program to support Acuña as she faced these challenges. Currently, only six out of 10 UC campuses are developing or have established college recovery programs. The programs that exist vary greatly in staffing capacity and the range of services they offer.
These inconsistencies need to be resolved. System-wide college recovery programs must have at least one full-time staff member, a dedicated and safe physical space, and institutional funding.
Trey Murray, an undergraduate student at UC Santa Barbara, said, “I remember coming to UCSB about a quarter of the way behind other freshmen because I spent my summer vacation at a treatment center.” I was scared of the whole of college and especially scared of going through school without stopping drinking. (College Recovery Program) provided a safe, recovery-supportive environment that was critical to my success in school and my sobriety. (It) gave me a space to fit in on campus and brought joy and enthusiasm to student life.”
University recovery programs provide resources such as drug-free social events, harm reduction supplies such as fentanyl test strips and the overdose drug naloxone, campus-wide educational programs, recovery housing, referrals to higher levels of care, and support groups led by friendly peers. do. There is social isolation and distinct challenges in maintaining sobriety or reducing drug use in a college environment where drug use is a standard part of the social experience.
This program is an important support for students in recovery from substance abuse, other behavioral addictions, eating disorders and similar conditions. According to a report from the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, one in seven people ages 18 to 25 meet diagnostic criteria for a substance use disorder. Especially for college students, that number is closer to one in four. Additionally, data from the American College Health Association's National College Health Assessment found that students on all UC campuses were using substances and seeking recovery support communities.
For Acuña, incorporating recovery into her daily life was an even bigger challenge due to the lack of a college recovery program on campus. “I always have to pay attention to my recovery. I would never say I have reached recovery,” he says. He did not receive the necessary support that a university recovery program would have provided in terms of hosting on-campus support groups, connecting with clinicians, finding a community of peer support on campus, and providing an accessible and safe place he could go at any time. He encounters stressors, activators or impulses. Instead, he had to find a way to move off campus and relied heavily on other forms of peer support through student organizations and identity-based clubs like Underground Scholars to build community and relationships with his peers. However, these tissues are not particularly prepared for recovery.
One undergraduate student shared why he chose to attend UC Santa Cruz, which has a well-staffed and funded college recovery program: “What I feared most when entering college was relapse. “Having (a college recovery program) through drug-free events and programs during college and a support group where I could meet people who shared their experiences helped tremendously with my recovery.”
Recovery as a process is more taxing than a full-time job because it requires you to continually challenge unhelpful coping mechanisms that you have been using for a long time. College recovery programs can serve students well, especially through their on-campus presence and support.
Preliminary research suggests that college recovery programs contribute to better academic performance. Data from Texas Tech University, one of the nation's oldest college recovery programs, shows that its members have higher graduation rates and GPAs than the average student. Data collected from these programs nationwide show graduation rates for participating students are nearly 90 percent, compared to an institution-wide graduation rate of 61 percent.
Esse Pink, a UCLA master's student, said: “Without the UCLA University Recovery Program, my life trajectory would have been much worse. I wouldn’t have gotten sober, I wouldn’t have gotten my bachelor’s degree, and I wouldn’t even be alive.”
•••
Aditi Hariharan I am a junior at UC Davis majoring in Political Science and Nutrition (Public Health Emphasis). She served as ACQUIRE vice president on behalf of the UC Student Government in 2023-24.
The opinions expressed in this commentary represent those of the author. EdSource welcomes comments representing a variety of viewpoints. If you would like to submit a comment, please review our guidelines and then contact us.