How Colleges Can Support Students Recovering from Substance Abuse

Alcohol has claimed more lives in Rio Arriba County in the past five years than other drugs. SMART, a secular alternative to Alcoholics Anonymous, provides one path toward recovery, increasingly incorporating scientific findings into treatment as well as support for family members of addicts, helping them change the environment.

Drugs like Naltrexone have shown a 78 percent success rate in reducing heavy drinking. However, only one percent of alcohol users ever get prescribed medication. Despite that some alcoholics are treating their illness with medication, and are saying that medication is helping them treat their addiction and reduce their cravings.

Sober spaces are free community hubs built around fitness, music, meals, and other activities, are emerging as a complement to traditional addiction treatment. Organizations like the Phoenix and the Recovery Café Network offer environments where people in recovery can rebuild social connections and daily routines without the focus being on addiction itself. The Phoenix reports 83% of new members remain sober after three months, and enrollment has grown with new member enrollments rising from roughly 20,000 to over 433,000 between 2020 and 2025.

Penn State's Collegiate Recovery Community offers peer-based support to students recovering from substance use disorders on a campus where party culture is deeply embedded. Founded in 2011, the program provides peer support groups, 12-step and SMART recovery meetings and a sober living house. The program's director attributes its success to peer relatability, as students sharing the same campus, pressures, and life stage can connect and build a supportive community.

Collegiate recovery programs or communities — like the Center for Collegiate Recovery Communities in Texas — are robust resources for students struggling to overcome substance use issues, whether they’re in long-term recovery or new to the process. Some offer scholarships for students in recovery, dedicated staff and counselors, and sober social activities.

Sometimes just having someone to talk to can help those who are suffering from depression. The Friendship Bench program in NYC borrows an idea from Harare, Zimbabwe, where healthcare workers—affectionately called Grannies—sit and consult with patients on benches outside of healthcare clinics. The Grannies help people discuss their issues and have had a measurably positive impact on those they’ve reached. In New York, the Friendship Benches connect individuals to peer mentors willing to listen across the city.

When students return to school after receiving treatment for drug or alcohol addictions, they often face new pressures and are convinced to again use substances. At Heartland High in Columbus, Ohio, a small class size, peer support, and access to a recovery coach help students stay sober.

Keeping families together eases the burden on the foster care system and reduces issues such as homelessness and substance abuse in the long term. Former foster children in Spokane, Washington, end up relying heavily upon other social welfare institutions throughout their lives. To break this cycle, Rising Strong, a program funded largely by a philanthropic contribution, focuses on rebuilding families while addressing behavior issues through an intensive, live-in program.

Designated harm reduction centers can reduce overdoses and infections among those suffering from addiction. Facilities that operate as safe spaces can also offer resources such as treatment or housing, such as at the Planterose DropIn Center in Bordeaux and the SOS SleepIn Center in Paris. The strategy of helping addicts first use safely, and then rebuild social connections, has helped France to reduce its rate of HIV infection.

By prioritizing treatment over law enforcement, Switzerland dramatically reduced its drug problem. In 1994, the country adopted a progressive policy to treat heroin addiction as a public health crisis, focusing on harm reduction, treatment, and prevention in addition to traditional law enforcement. The policy, which embraces medicated-assisted treatment and universal access to services, helped greatly reduce issues such as the incidence of HIV, drug overdoses, and deaths over the long-term.