Back in the spring, I got a call from the sister of an old Southern Living friend who had bumped into one of my choir buddies from years ago at First Baptist Birmingham—this is how networking operates in the South. She asked if I would be interested in working on a magazine about addiction recovery. And I said, "Huh?" I didn't know anything about it, and it sounded . . . depressing. But in the world of freelance, you have to at least peek behind every door that opens for you, so I took a peek. What I saw changed the way I think, on many fronts.
The magazine is called Recovery Campus, and it focuses on a network of colleges that have established something called "Collegiate Recovery Communities" aimed at helping college students who have been through treatment for drug, alcohol, or other addictions and are trying to get back on a positive path and earn their degree. I'm particularly excited about it right now because yesterday I interviewed Kitty Harris, a national leader in collegiate recovery. If you can spend five minutes with Kitty and not be inspired (1) to change your own life for the better and (2) to help others, you might want to check your pulse. I've been doing magazine interviews since 1988, and Kitty is easily one of the most passionate, compassionate, inspiring people I've ever talked with. I asked her how she encourages recovery program directors who are just getting started and are going through all the struggles for university support, funding, etc. And she said, "If you save even one young person's life, isn't it worth it?"
More than once, when I've told friends about this project, their faces lit up and they said, "Could you send me some information?" Sadly, many, many young people get derailed by addiction as college students or even high school students, which can set them on a downward trajectory, even if they're trying very, very hard to get their lives back on track. And it's not just about the kids who hit the frat parties on a far too regular basis. Some kids get hooked on prescription stimulants because they're trying to stay awake to study and keep their grades up while holding down a part-time job, then they take another drug to help them relax so they can sleep, and on and on. If they're lucky enough to get into treatment and get clean and sober, their parents then have to figure out . . . now what? Do we send them back to the same college environment where this all started?
This is where it gets really difficult for the students in early recovery. They know they can't go back to their old crowd because the temptations are just too great. But they can't relate to students who have never suffered with addiction because those kids have no idea how hard it is for someone in recovery to stay on track in a college environment. Collegiate Recovery Communities give them a safe haven and an instant social group of students who share and understand their struggle and who are committed to making sobriety and graduation their priority. There's a strong emphasis on honesty, compassion, and service to the community, as well as academic counseling and all kinds of recovery support. Suddenly, they can go to a football game without worrying about whether their circle of friends will start drinking. They can go to parties without wondering whether they'll be surrounded by drugs and alcohol. They can fully participate in the college experience, knowing they have the safety net of this community. Students in Collegiate Recovery Communities often have a higher graduation rate and a higher average GPA than their university's average. Some of them are so changed by the experience that they go into counseling or a related field and launch programs at other schools.
Coming through recovery makes this whole community very honest and direct about their struggle, their choices, their regrets. Am I brave enough to be that honest about mine? No, I am not. I have tremendous respect for their courage. And, as is the case with so many things that have just fallen into my lap, I have the feeling, as the song says, that "God is tryin' to tell me somethin'."
If you know a family struggling with this situation, please share the following websites:
http://recoverycampus.com/
http://collegiaterecovery.org/
http://www.staciemathewsonfoundation.org