Virginia Tech just opened its first Living-Learning Community dedicated to students in active recovery from substance use. Called “The Roost,” it currently houses five students in recovery and is located on the first floor of Payne Hall, a central spot on the residential side of campus.
Why it matters: The Virginia Tech Recovery Community was established in 2015 and has since become its own department under Hokie Wellness, Virginia Tech’s campus-wide programming that educates students on maintaining their physical, mental, and social health.
The Recovery Community has hosted group meetings in its Recovery Lounge in Payne Hall for years. But now, the Lounge also serves as a home base for residents of The Roost: students whose suite-style dorm rooms are just down the hall.
While Virginia Tech students commonly choose to only live on campus for their first year, The Roost is designed for students of all ages. The program even drew students who were previously living off campus to return to dorm-style housing, as its current makeup is two freshmen and three upperclassmen.
The big picture: Living in The Roost, students receive individual counseling, design their own recovery journeys, and participate in larger Recovery Community events.
- Kaitlin Carter, a Virginia Tech alumna herself, is Assistant Director of the VT Recovery Community and works closely with students in The Roost.
- “For our students who live in The Roost, they do meet with Amy Terry or myself at least once a month. They can meet with us more than that, if that’s what feels good, and some of them do. And then, they are required to attend our Recovery Seminar that meets on Fridays,” Carter said.
- Amy Terry is The Roost LLC Program Director and has an office adjacent to Carter’s in the Recovery Lounge.
- “Most Living-Learning Programs have an academic or course requirement, and [the Recovery Seminar] is our course requirement … We have different speakers come in, we do different activities in that to really focus on community-building in recovery support,” Carter explained.
- In terms of what’s discussed in one-on-ones, Carter said she talks a lot with students about how to navigate urges and cravings.
- “We also talk pretty extensively about how to navigate relationships–friendships, romantic relationships–particularly if it doesn’t feel like folks in their life either know about their recovery or are supportive,” Carter added.
Zoom in: Julian, a student who transferred to Virginia Tech after taking classes at New River Community College, has been part of the Recovery Community for more than two years.
- Julian went to his first recovery meeting and enjoyed it, but didn’t attend another meeting until a month later. Hearing other students’ stories caused him to realize the gravity of his problem, but also encouraged him that change was possible.
- “I guess what brought me back was I saw people who had it so much worse than I did–or, I guess, what I perceived as worse than I did–and they were getting better, and I was like, ‘Maybe there’s a chance,’” Julian said.
- Since becoming fully involved in the Recovery Community, Julian described noticing significant changes in his sense of responsibility, control, and in his sociability.
- “The most important thing for me–which is, like, a pillar of my morals now–is a sense of very strong personal responsibility,” he said. “[But] after going to the meetings and coming back … I realize that it’s all on me, which is difficult but also really liberating.”
Zoom out: While there are college students struggling with addiction all across the country, it’s hard to ignore Virginia Tech’s location in Southwest Virginia, right along the Appalachian Mountains.
- The Appalachian region was a main target of the Opioid Epidemic and continues to suffer its repercussions.
- Carter pointed out that VT students may be particularly sensitive to opioid-related issues simply because the school pulls in a lot of in-state students. On top of that, many of these students are from within a tight radius of Blacksburg, further increasing their likelihood of knowing someone who has struggled with substance use.
- Considering this, it’s understandable why VT has been expanding their resources and staff, implementing programs like The Roost to support their unique demographic of students.
- As Carter put it, “We can’t expect for the issues that face Appalachia to not be on our campus.”
- Julian, who grew up only 30 minutes from campus, noted this as one of the reasons he found VT-specific recovery meetings especially effective.
- “One of the reasons I was actually happy to be in the Recovery Community, versus a local meeting, was [because] I was going in with a problem with weed,” which he said was severe. “But if you go to, like, any of the meetings in Southwest Virginia, it’s meth, alcohol, and opioids. So, I didn’t really feel like I would even have a place.”
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