To the ARHE Community:
We want to take a moment to address some details regarding our upcoming annual conference in June 2023. For the first time since 2018, we are hosting a conference in a state that is included on the “States Subject to AB 1887’s Travel Prohibition” in the State of California. We stand with the State of California and their support of the 2SLGBTQIA+ Community and this decision was not made lightly.
Since 2018, ARHE has been committed to working to avoid hosting the conference in the states on the California travel restriction list in order to not exclude collegiate recovery staff and students from California. Planning a major conference while balancing the needs of multiple marginalized communities and shifting political environments while accommodating multiple organizations with varying academic calendars in both collegiate and high school spaces is no small task. After exploring multiple options for the site of the 2023 conference, it became clear that The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio was the only viable option. At that time, we immediately began discussions on how we will work to support collegiate recovery staff and students from California and members of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community.
The safety of our 2SLGBTQIA+ community and accessibility of the conference is of the utmost priority and we are working diligently to reduce harm and to create an intentional, safe, and affirming space.
- We are currently working to broaden our conference scholarship fund in order to support the in-person or virtual attendance of collegiate recovery staff and students from California.
- Scholarship applications are being announced in a conference update email next week.
- We recognize that attending virtually is a much different experience and are actively working with the Higher Education Center (HECAOD) to facilitate a more interactive virtual experience.
- 2SLGBTQIA+ affirming meetings are included in the recovery meeting schedule for the conference.
- There are gender-neutral restrooms on every floor of the conference site.
- We are working closely with HECAOD and our colleagues at OSU to provide additional support.
- We are reaching out to local resources within the Columbus, Ohio community for their collaboration in creating an affirming conference space.
For additional information on campus and local resources, please click here.
We are aware that other professional development organizations with more resources have committed to not hosting their conferences in these states. We will continue to explore every option to host the conference in states that are not on the travel restriction list. The current location schedule for the next three years will give us time to work toward developing a plan to avoid this issue in the future to the best of our ability. It is important to the ARHE Staff and Board of Directors that we continue to work toward inclusivity and accessibility to the conference while creating a safe and affirming atmosphere. We encourage any of our members to be an active part of this process by joining the Conference Planning Committee in the future.
Questions regarding conference planning, the scholarships, or other ARHE matters may be directed to our Executive Director, Kristina Canfield at kristina.canfield@collegiaterecovery.org
Kristina Canfield, ARHE Executive Director
Jarmichael Harris, ARHE Board of Directors Senior Co-chair
Ahmed Hosni, ARHE Board of Directors Junior Co-chair
Dr. Dominiquie Clemmons-James, ARHE Board of Directors Secretary