ARHE Year In Review 2024

2024 has been a year of growth for ARHE as we hired our third full time staff member, began offering technical assistance to any institution, hosted our first west coast conference, and launched the official accreditation process for collegiate recovery! As we launch in to a new year, we reflect on some of our accomplishments throughout 2024. While we’re sure to have missed some, we wanted to share with you some of our highlights:  

February

• Began work with JBS International & ARS to draft a new guide for SAMHSA regarding youth educational recovery supports for publication in 2025 

• Continued to host multiple open sessions for strategic planning input 

• Staff reviewed the SRCRA external evaluation report from the pilot in late 2023 and began preparations for an official April launch of the new accreditation process 

• Launched the Community Colleges Working Group 

• • The working group launched a Needs Assessment Survey  

• • Launched Community Colleges Networking Hour 

• • Decisions were made to focus on updates to the Getting Started Guide with a specific focus on community colleges 

• Launched the Resource Hub Working Group to focus on updates to the ARHE member resource hub 

• Programming Sessions:  

• • February 6: Planning Sober Study Abroad Trips! 

• • February 8: Harm Reduction Discussion Group – A panel on “Recovery Programs Based on Harm Reduction”  

• • February 9: Access, Belonging & Connection Speaker Series 

• • • Part Two of a panel discussion responding to the question: “How is it that Collegiate Recovery Programs are thriving at HBCUs with Black and Brown students in recovery and Black and Brown allies, but our PWI communities are still homogenously white males with only few exceptions?” – a question posed by Jarmichael Harris, Director of Scholastic Recovery APNC  

• • February 13: “Write Recovery” – Writing and publishing recovery, and a creative writing experience / experiential practice  

• • February 15: Inaugural Community Colleges Networking Hour 

• • February 20: How to Partner with Advancement and Development Offices 

• • February 23: Book Club Discussion – How Long ‘Til Black Future Month? By N.K. Jemisin  

• • February 26: Monthly Membership Meeting 

• • February 27: Planning and programming discussion and dialogue

April 

• Collegiate Recovery Week Highlights 

• • Theme: Threads of Transformation: Celebrating Individual Journeys, Weaving a Collective Movement 

• • The official launch of SRCRA, the new accreditation process for collegiate recovery programs 

• • Launched the Collegiate Recovery Quilt campaign, with a call to action to contribute program t-shirts or custom-made quilt squares that will be sewn together and presented at the annual conference each year 

• • Throwback Photo Thursday 

• • Announced the 2024 Collegiate Recovery Award winners 

• • Supported the HECAOD presentation on “The Impact of Justice System Involvement on College Students in Recovery” with Dr. Noel Vest 

• • Hosted an International Expansion Panel 

• • Partnered with HungryFriend to offer a $5 Starbucks gift card for people who signed up to help raise money for ARHE 

• Staff attended and sponsored the 2024 National Conference on Addiction Recovery Science (NCARS), hosted virtually 

• Programming Sessions:  

• • April 2: Policies and Procedures for CRPs  

• • April 9: Strategic Planning for CRPs  

• • April 11: Reviving the Collegiate Recovery Harm Reduction Survey 

• • April 16: Creative Corner – Create a Square for the Recovery Quilt!  

• • April 18: Community Colleges Networking Hour 

• • April 23: Developing Student Scholarships 

• • April 26: Book Club Discussion – Sister Outsider by Audre Lorde 

• • April 29: Monthly Membership Meeting 

• • April 30: Programming and Engagement   

May

• ARHE supported the Recovery Research Collaborative Retreat at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, VA 

• Staff attended and presented at the Louisiana Board of Regents Conference in Baton Rouge, LA 

• Staff attended and supported the Southeast Summit at Kennesaw State University  

• Created a Partner Space on the Phoenix App so that members can submit and share their open events for others to participate in 

• Programming Sessions:  

• • May 7: Data Collection and Needs Assessments 

• • May 9: Learn About the T-Break Guide  

• • May 14: Developing Recovery Ally Training 

• • May 16: Community Colleges Networking Hour  

• • May 17: Some Implications of CRP’s Exclusion of Harm Reduction  

• • May 21: “Telling Your CRP’s Story Through Data” 

• • May 24: Book Club Discussion – The Fire This Time by Jesmyn Ward  

• • May 27: Monthly Membership Meeting 

• • May 28: Understanding the Cost Effectiveness Calculator  

June

• Staff attended and exhibited at the FAVOR Recovery Leadership Summit in Denver, CO 

• Site visits to possible conference locations for the 2026 ARHE/ARS/AAPG Annual Conference 

• ARHE participated in the SAMHSA Harm Reduction Summit in Denver, CO 

• Hosted the 2024 ARHE/ARS/AAPG Annual Conference in San Diego, CA 

• • First time that the conference has ever been hosted on the West Coast!  

• • 421 registered attendees 

• • 142 speakers 

• • 89 sessions 

• • 26 sponsors / exhibitors 

• • 11 on-site recovery meetings  

• • 4 entertainment and wellness activities 

• • 4 networking events 

• • 4 meals provided 

• • 3 coffee breaks provided 

• • 3 conferences in one 

• • 3 countries represented 

• • A wellness room, sensory lounge, and nursing room available all day  

• • Over 75 hours of professionally recorded content with 15.5 enduring continuing education credits available, available for purchase through June 2025! 

• Welcomed new ARHE Board of Directors members at the annual Board Retreat 

• Programming Sessions:  

• • June 4: Technical Assistance Overview with Question & Answer 

• • June 11: Bringing Recovery Allyship to the Classroom 

• • June 13: WVCRN’s Xylazine Awareness Training & CRP Summer Planning 

• • June 14: Gender, Race, & Substance Use 

• • June 18: How to Utilize Social Media While Still Honoring your Student’s Anonymity 

• • June 20: Community Colleges Networking Hour 

• • June 24: Monthly Membership Meeting 

• • June 25: Collegiate Recovery Research Collaborative Overview with Question & Answer

August

• Began work on an official Conference Handbook and Planning Guide  

• Staff attended and presented a keynote at the St. Joseph’s Recovery Conference in Philadelphia, PA 

• ARHE Staff attended the White House International Overdose Awareness Day Event  

• Received another year of funding from the Independence Blue Cross Foundation with an emphasis on supporting grantee schools through the accreditation process 

October

• ARHE attended and presented at the Oxford House World Convention in Orlando, FL 

• ARHE hosts a presentation on collegiate recovery at RecoverCon in Illinois 

• Staff presented two sessions at the Mississippi Student Nurses Association Conference in Biloxi, MS in partnership with the ORN 

• ARHE supported the Tulane Ribbon Cutting Event for their new space on-campus in New Orleans, LA

• Launched the Privacy Considerations Working Group to focus on development of a document addressing privacy and confidentiality in collegiate recovery programs 

• Programming Sessions:  

• • October 1: Making Connections – the Art of Building Sustainable Donor Relationships and Long-term Funding Resources 

• • October 2: 10 Years Later: What We Have Learned About Collegiate Recovery Participants Since the First National Study 

• • October 3: Collegiate Recovery Research Collaborative Meeting 

• • October 8: Collaborating with Recovery High Schools 

• • October 10: Cultural Capital: Your Hidden Asset in Recovery 

• • October 15: Oxford House Partnerships with CRPs 

• • October 22: Focusing on Community: Creating a CRC Within a CRP  

• • October 25: Book Club Discussion – Saving Our Own Lives by Shira Hassan (Part 2 of 8) 

• • October 29: University of Michigan CRP Institutional Fit and Community Culture  

December

• ARHE Executive Director participated in the SPARK Virtual Roundtables – Understanding Recovery Models  

• Presentation for the Centre in Innovation in Campus Mental Health Ontario 

• ARHE signed a contract with the Center for Addiction Recovery Support (CARS), a SAMHSA funded organization, for funding that will continue to support and grow TA efforts for the next four years 

• Programming Sessions:  

• • December 5: Collegiate Recovery Research Collaborative Meeting 

• • December 12: Using Policy Levers to Drive Addiction Policy Change 

Ongoing

• Monthly Meetings with other recovery organizations and SAMHSA’s Office of Recovery  

• Planning and development of the revised website and new membership portal for launch in early 2025 

• Helped to coordinate monthly regional meetings for members 

• Continued ongoing monthly meetings with various project working groups to advance the profession and deliver continuous content  

ARHE is grateful to continue growing and expanding resources for our members and the collegiate recovery field as a whole. In 2025, ARHE aims to continue growing collegiate recovery through expansion projects, continuing to offer technical assistance for new and developed programs, launching a new membership portal, increasing member benefits including the launch of a revitalized Resource Hub and brand-new Research Hub, hosting the annual conference in New Orleans in June, launching a new Strategic Plan, developing a Collegiate Recovery Professional Certification course, and so much more! 

We hope that each and every one of you has a wonderful new year and we look forward to celebrating your successes in 2025!