Today, we know that student health and wellness is central to the work of collegiate recovery programs. We also know that there are many questions that we all face in the field like: How does our institution of higher education support health and wellness on campus? In what ways does our Collegiate Recovery Program (either established or developing) connect with larger systems, departments, and stakeholders on campus to further advocate for collegiate recovery support?
This month, in Georgia, The Peach Belt Conference focused on providing resources, sharing information, and connecting campus stakeholders around the issue of behavioral health. The spring Student-Athlete Advisory Committee or SAAC meeting and panel discussion brought “league stakeholders together with a panel of renowned experts to further the goal of understanding the relationship between behavioral health and substance abuse disorder and recovery.”[i]
Participants included: Kristina Canfield, Executive Director of the Association of Recovery in Higher Education (ARHE), Amanda Baker, Chief Executive Officer for BRC Healthcare in Austin, Texas, Quincy ‘Q’ Carter, former UGA and NFL quarterback and co-creator of an initiative with BRC Recovery and Justin Harrison, former PBC track & field student-athlete at Augusta University.
Kristina Canfield shares that:
This was such an exciting opportunity to get to talk about mental health, substance use disorder, and recovery with a group of student athletes who are amazing leaders on their respective campuses. It was the beginning of an important conversation and I am looking forward to building a relationship with the Peach Belt Conference!
This spring, let’s think about how we can follow the example of the Peach Belt Conference and bring together stakeholders that can help us advance the field of collegiate recovery and increase behavioral health opportunities for students on campus. Let’s look to universities that are engaged in the important work of capacity building around recovery support and follow their lead.
Read more here: PBC Continues Focus on Behavioral Health – Peach Belt Conference
[i] Retrieved from: https://peachbeltconference.org/news/2023/1/25/general-pbc-continues-focus-on-behavioral-health.aspx