Rams Together for Recovery & Wellness launched this fall to provide a healing environment and numerous recovery support programs

KINGSTON, R.I. – Oct. 22, 2025 – Regardless of where they are in their journey, students struggling with substance use at the University of Rhode Island now have a first-of-its-kind safe space where they can empower one another on their road to recovery.

Launched at the start of the fall semester, URI’s collegiate recovery program – aptly named “Rams Together for Recovery & Wellness” – is a peer-based support program free to all students that provides a safe, inclusive community for those in, seeking recovery from, or reconsidering substance use. It’s the first such recovery center at the University and one of the first federally funded collegiate recovery centers in Rhode Island.

The program offers weekly peer recovery support groups, including women’s and men’s meetings on Mondays and Thursdays, respectively; “Art with Andrew” on Tuesdays, led by URI senior and peer recovery specialist Andrew Meyer; a “Move to Heal” fitness class and support meeting hosted by graduate research assistant Leetal Young; “Queer Wellness” on Fridays with Meyer, and other support groups hosted by URI staff. Some groups, including “Move to Heal” and “Queer Wellness,” are open to all students regardless of recovery status.

The heart of the program is its Wellness Lounge, located in room 118 of the Memorial Union. It’s a warm, dimly lit, substance-free space furnished with donated items from various campus and community partners to create a calm, welcoming ambience for any student who wants to drop in, whether they’re seeking help in their recovery or simply want someone to talk to in a non-judgmental environment. The vibe is intentional with the hope that students who walk in will feel more comfortable starting a conversation. 

Even students who aren’t in recovery are encouraged to visit. No registration is necessary and attendance at weekly programming isn’t mandatory for students to get involved, said program director Arielle Sherman, LICSW. The goal is to support students, reduce stigma, and create a campus culture where recovery is celebrated. While this program does not provide formal treatment or therapy services, specialists offer guidance, peer support and referrals to other campus resources that can help students in their recovery process.

“We have more of a peer support mentality,” said Sherman, an alcohol and other substances prevention services specialist at URI. “It’s about bringing community together through substance-free living or helping you rethink the way you use substances. When people feel out of sorts or don’t know where to turn to, they want to come to a space that feels safe and where you’re being listened to, and I think our space feels like that as soon as you walk in.”

“What’s also important to note is when it comes to mental health care is that there is never going to be a one-size-fits-all approach to anything,” said Young. “Our location in the union is very accessible. Students have already been dropping in. We try to meet them where they’re at and figure out what they need, but if somebody needs a higher level of care, we can connect them with the Counseling Center or our integrated behavioral health in Health Services or statewide programs.”

Supported by grant funding from the Rhode Island Department of Behavioral Healthcare, Developmental Disabilities & Hospitals (BHDDH) via the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), URI’s collegiate recovery program is staffed by graduate students and licensed professionals from the University’s Health Services and Counseling Center. The team includes Sherman; Young; Meyer; Sydney Dubois, a peer recovery specialist; Catherine Calise, LICSW, a clinical counselor and substance use specialist; Jennifer Hodshon, MPH, director of Health Services; and William Massey, MA, MAT, assistant director of Health Services.

“I’ve been impressed with how many students have walked in, looked around, and said, ‘What is this space? It just looks so welcoming,’” Calise said. “We have coffee, candy, snacks, couches, beanbags – it’s cozy. We’ve even had a few students who just want to volunteer because they’ve been affected by substance use indirectly.”

The idea to launch a collegiate recovery program at URI came to fruition in the summer of 2024 when the BHDDH reached out to Rhode Island’s public universities to notify them that the department had been awarded State Opioid Response grants through SAMHSA with the intent to distribute the funds to those universities so they could open on-campus recovery centers.

According to the Association of Recovery in Higher Education (ARHE), collegiate recovery programs date to the 1970s, but have experienced a marked growth over the past decade since the Office on National Drug Control Policy released a call-to-action statement in 2018 for all institutions of higher learning to disseminate recovery support and resources to their students. Hodshon, URI’s director of Health Services and the principal investigator on the grant, said the University’s collegiate recovery program will continue to work with the ARHE on cultivating nationwide data and establishing best practices.

“I’m just so amazed and impressed with what we’ve done so far,” Hodshon said.

Destigmatizing substance use remains atop the list of priorities for URI’s Collegiate Recovery Program. As Hodshon noted, substance use “doesn’t pick and choose” and “crosses over every socioeconomic status, race, and religion.”

In terms of sustainability – the University expects the program to be funded through the SAMHSA grants through 2027 – the feedback from the community at large has been encouraging, from the local businesses that donated refreshments for the Wellness Lounge’s open house in September to the students who’ve submitted artwork as wall décor.

As the program continues to grow, Massey said, and with recovery options becoming something parents and families look for when researching colleges, there’s hope that URI can draw inspiration from other collegiate recovery centers where housing options are available. Those are long-term goals. With URI’s program still in its infancy, the group remains focused on spreading the word to all students that its resources are available to anyone who simply wants to stop in and say hello.

“It’s really special how much passion is coming through the doors,” Young said. “Everybody is affected by recovery in one way or another, and it means something different to everyone. That’s what our collegiate recovery program believes.”

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Michael Parente, director of communications and marketing in the URI Division of Student Affairs, wrote this news release.