The University Health Center is proud to introduce parents and families to a new student organization, Terps for Recovery (TFR). Based on feedback and interest from students and families, the UHC has worked to foster the development of this important group, but the students in recovery have done all of the work! Collegiate recovery programs (CRPs) are popping up at universities around the country to support community members affected by addiction. The Association for Recovery in Higher Education defines a CRP as “a supportive environment within the campus culture that reinforces the decision to disengage from addictive behavior. It is designed to provide an educational opportunity alongside recovery support to ensure that students do not have to sacrifice one for the other.” TFR is a growing part of the development of a CRP at Maryland! A recent graduate of UMD describes TFR in the following passage…
“The connections formed amongst people in recovery are often fast-forged and deeply personal. These relationships are of profound importance for maintaining long-term recovery. The work that Terps for Recovery has done to increase the visibility of students in recovery has brought together a community of diverse individuals that, while already on campus, were not connected the way they are now. By embracing students from many academic backgrounds, as well as alumni, they demonstrate that recovery is attractive and inclusive. This has cemented the network of peer supports that are foundational to long-term recovery. A key component to the success of the organization is their ability to meet regularly in the Drop-In Center located on the ground floor of the University Health Center. All students in, or considering, recovery are welcome to sit and chat in the newly furnished room which is available to students approximately 15 hours a week. The Drop-In Center now hosts regular and periodic events which fill out the days between their larger social events and recovery panels. These provide students with time to talk and connect, make art, enjoy breakfast, or simply study in a safe, substance-free space, fostering strength born from united purposes and challenges. This fellowship offers the many incoming, returning, and transfer students who would not have met a venue to do so, in conjunction with faculty and staff supports.”
Our hope is to recruit family members, faculty and alumni who are in recovery themselves to get involved in this effort. Our students need opportunities for networking, mentoring and financial support to make TFR a success.
