{"id":3445,"date":"2025-10-22T16:06:18","date_gmt":"2025-10-22T20:06:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/student-affairs\/?p=3445"},"modified":"2025-10-22T16:10:09","modified_gmt":"2025-10-22T20:10:09","slug":"peer-based-support-program-provides-safe-space-for-students-dealing-with-substance-use","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/student-affairs\/news\/2025\/10\/peer-based-support-program-provides-safe-space-for-students-dealing-with-substance-use\/","title":{"rendered":"Peer-based support program provides safe space for students dealing with substance use"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Rams Together for Recovery & Wellness launched this fall to provide a healing environment and numerous recovery support programs<\/h1>\n\n\n
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The “Rams Together for Wellness” team includes, from left to right, Sydney Dubois, Leetal Young, Andrew Meyer, Catherine Calise, and program director Arielle Sherman. (URI Photo\/Courtesy Student Affairs) <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

KINGSTON, R.I. \u2013 Oct. 22, 2025 \u2013 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Launched at the start of the fall semester, URI\u2019s collegiate recovery program \u2013 aptly named \u201cRams Together for Recovery & Wellness\u201d \u2013 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\u2019s the first such recovery center at the University and one of the first federally funded collegiate recovery centers in Rhode Island.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The program offers weekly peer recovery support groups, including women\u2019s and men\u2019s meetings on Mondays and Thursdays, respectively; \u201cArt with Andrew\u201d on Tuesdays, led by URI senior and peer recovery specialist Andrew Meyer; a \u201cMove to Heal\u201d fitness class and support meeting hosted by graduate research assistant Leetal Young; \u201cQueer Wellness\u201d on Fridays with Meyer, and other support groups hosted by URI staff. Some groups, including \u201cMove to Heal\u201d and \u201cQueer Wellness,\u201d are open to all students regardless of recovery status.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The heart of the program is its Wellness Lounge, located in room 118 of the Memorial Union. It\u2019s 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\u2019re 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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even students who aren\u2019t in recovery are encouraged to visit. No registration is necessary and attendance at weekly programming isn\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe have more of a peer support mentality,\u201d said Sherman, an alcohol and other substances prevention services specialist at URI. \u201cIt\u2019s 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\u2019t 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.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s 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,\u201d said Young. \u201cOur 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.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u2019s collegiate recovery program is staffed by graduate students and licensed professionals from the University\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been impressed with how many students have walked in, looked around, and said, \u2018What is this space? It just looks so welcoming,\u2019\u201d Calise said. \u201cWe have coffee, candy, snacks, couches, beanbags \u2013 it\u2019s cozy. We\u2019ve even had a few students who just want to volunteer because they\u2019ve been affected by substance use indirectly.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u2019s director of Health Services and the principal investigator on the grant, said the University\u2019s collegiate recovery program will continue to work with the ARHE on cultivating nationwide data and establishing best practices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI’m just so amazed and impressed with what we’ve done so far,\u201d Hodshon said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Destigmatizing substance use remains atop the list of priorities for URI\u2019s Collegiate Recovery Program. As Hodshon noted, substance use \u201cdoesn\u2019t pick and choose\u201d and \u201ccrosses over every socioeconomic status, race, and religion.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In terms of sustainability \u2013 the University expects the program to be funded through the SAMHSA grants through 2027 \u2013 the feedback from the community at large has been encouraging, from the local businesses that donated refreshments for the Wellness Lounge\u2019s open house in September to the students who\u2019ve submitted artwork as wall d\u00e9cor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the program continues to grow, Massey said, and with recovery options becoming something parents and families look for when researching colleges, there\u2019s hope that URI can draw inspiration from other collegiate recovery centers where housing options are available. Those are long-term goals. With URI\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s really special how much passion is coming through the doors,\u201d Young said. \u201cEverybody is affected by recovery in one way or another, and it means something different to everyone. That\u2019s what our collegiate recovery program believes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

###<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Michael Parente, director of communications and marketing in the URI Division of Student Affairs, wrote this news release.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Rams Together for Recovery & Wellness launched this fall to provide a healing environment and numerous recovery support programs KINGSTON, R.I. \u2013 Oct. 22, 2025 \u2013 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 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5297,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[13],"class_list":["post-3445","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/student-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3445","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/student-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/student-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/student-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5297"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/student-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3445"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/student-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3445\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3451,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/student-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3445\/revisions\/3451"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/student-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3445"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/student-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3445"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/student-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3445"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}