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The ARHE Equity and Justice in Collegiate Recovery Discussion Series

The Association of Recovery in Higher Education presents: The ARHE Equity and Justice in Collegiate Recovery Discussion Series.

The ARHE Equity and Justice Fellow is facilitating a series discussion meetings hosted by movement leaders from diverse communities to engage themes of social justice, equity, and inclusion and how these concepts intersect with programming, support, and services for BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and disabled students in recovery from addiction.

If you are interested in hosting a discusison meeting/workshop as part of our series, or if you have any questions or concerns please contact us at dei@collegiaterecovery.org.

Folks with accessibility questions or accommodations please email us at: dei@collegiaterecovery.org.

View ARHE’s Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: https://collegiaterecovery.org/who-we-are/

Navigating Youth in Recovery: Introducing “The Little Book of College Sobriety: Living Happy, Healthy, and Free” Written by Susan Packard

Participant Bios

Susan Packard: Susan is a media entrepreneur and a sober, hope-rich author who has contributed to the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Fast Company, and Refinery 29. This is her third book about emotional fitness and the many shapes it takes in people’s lives, and how it is essential to living with peace and joy. She is a frequent speaker and gave a TEDx talk about emotional fitness at UCLA.

Allison: Alison identifies as a Queer parent to a daughter who has struggled with substances. Alison is a long-term person in recovery and provided insight on being open about her journey with her daughter, and the ups and downs of her personal recovery while navigating parenthood. 

Linden: With personal struggles with substances, Linden is a parent who is in the early stages of navigating youth recovery and provides insightful feedback on what the early signs of struggling were, and how his family has approached supporting their children. 

Dylan: Dylan is an Indigenous parent that represents a valuable perspective that encompasses holistic healing and the impacts of generational trauma on Indigenous youth. Using his own experiences to support his children in recovery, he provides a background of what recovery can look like within the BIPOC community. 

Webinar Description

This webinar encompasses the experiences of parents with youth who are in/or entering recovery. The Little Book of College Sobriety includes exerts of a mother that struggled with a daughter that misused substances. The proceeds from the sale of this book go to The Association of Recovery in Higher Education (ARHE). This webinar characterizes parent experiences and emphasizes intersectionality in recovery through age, race, sexuality, and gender.  

Previous Sessions

Exploring BIPOC Inclusion and Student Leadership in Collegiate Recovery, An Interview

Presenter Bio:

Asianna Brown (she/her) is an MSW candidate at Hawai’i Pacific University and a student in recovery. She previously served as a Student Ambassador for ARHE, where she seeks to highlight historical, cultural, and anti-racist education. This past spring, Asianna graduated from Baylor University with her BSW, where she also co-founded Black Leaders Moving Social Work (BLMSW). Her organization aims to promote a safe space for Black students to voice their concerns and lift the voices of marginalized students at a predominately white campus. This summer, she participated in a research program through the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), focusing on substance use prevention among adolescents. This year, Asianna has the opportunity to continue work in substance use prevention for the local keiki and ʻōpio in Honolulu.

Session Description:

In this interview we will explore Asianna’s experiences as a student leader in the Baylor collegiate recovery program, and discuss the historical and ongoing oppression that informs the field of collegiate recovery. We also hope to engage ways that CRCs can better support BIPOC students and develop more inclusive practices with regards to BIPOC student leadership within CRCs.

For the Ummah: A Panel on Supporting Muslim Students in Collegiate Recovery

Panelists:

Maysa Mohmoud, University of Alabama Birmingham
Ayesha Al-Akdhar, University of Alabama
Dharma Mirza, Oregon State University

Session Description:

This student panel will explore the journeys, obstacles, and success of Muslim students in navigating both collegiate recovery communities and higher education. Muslim students are often left out conversations about equity and justice in higher education and collegiate recovery alike. We will be joined by a panel of Muslim students in recovery who will discuss their stories and explore ways to better support our Muslim peers. We hope to explore the role of both Muslim liberation and islamophobia in recovery, and how we can understand and engage these issues.

Cultural Adaptations of 12 Step Recovery Programs

Download the presentation slides here.

Presenter Bio:

Dr. Jamison has a PhD in counseling psychology with academic and research interests in multicultural counseling. Dr. Jamison joined the Hazelden Betty Ford Graduate School of Addiction Studies in 2012 and currently serves as an associate professor and faculty coordinator. She has taught Multicultural Counseling courses for both on campus and online students, and conducts group supervision for students on internship. She served as the clinical placements coordinator for 2.5 years. She is a licensed psychologist with the state of Minnesota and also maintains a small private practice. Dr. Jamison specializes in adolescent addiction, vocational issues for recovering individuals, multicultural counseling, and addiction within the LGBTQ community. Prior to joining the Graduate School, Dr. Jamison was a mental health practitioner at the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation, Plymouth, working with adolescents and adults. She has given numerous lectures and workshops, including at the American Psychological Association annual conference and the National Conference on Addiction Disorders.

Session Description:

We know the original creators of the 12 Step recovery program were largely White, Christian, middle-class men. Since its creation, the program has been adapted for many different populations, including different religions (Buddhism, Islam, atheism) and other marginalized identities (race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender, age, and socioeconomic class). This talk will discuss the different experiences people from marginalized populations encounter when working a 12 Step program designed for a privileged population, and different cultural adaptations that have been utilized to address these different experiences.

For the Culturally Competent: Curating Inclusive Spaces for Black Women in Collegiate Recovery

Presenter Bio:

Dr. Smith is an author and CEO of AMS Consulting, LLC as well as an administrator at the Louisiana Board of Regents. Allison has spent the last 10 years working in the field of substance mis/use prevention and recovery in higher education, by implementing statewide programming and policy initiatives.

Allison is a native of Baton Rouge, Louisiana where she received a B.S. in Psychology from Southern University A & M College, and both a Masters of Public Administration and a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership, Research & Counseling (Higher Education Administration specialization) from Louisiana State University.

A consistent passion for Allison is addressing diversity, equity, inclusion and access in the world of prevention programming and recovery in higher education – on both the student and staff sides. Through her love of conversation and collaboration, Allison enjoys connecting multiple parties to create innovative yet practical solutions and making “hard” or “difficult” conversations empathetic, informative and actionable to create a more just and equitable world.

Session Description:

This session will focus on the roles of family, religiosity and cultural competence as key functions in advancing the collegiate recovery space for Black women in higher education, particularly on the staff side. Tips for retention, recruitment, and inclusion of Black women in the collegiate recovery field will be discussed.

Recovery, HIV/AIDS, and the Origins of Harm Reduction

To view the recaptioned version, click here.

Download the presentation slides here.

Download the SHARP Pledge here.

Presenter Bio:

Dharmakrishna Mirza (she/her) is the 2020-21 ARHE Justice & Equity Fellow. Dharma attends Oregon State University, studying Public Health, Queer Studies and Medical Humanities. Dharma focuses her work and research on harm reduction, sexual health, addiction, public health equity, and the intersections of behavioral health and marginalized health populations. Dharma informs her work through intersectional, feminist, and decolonial frameworks and draws on her own experiences in navigating health/harm reduction services as an HIV-positive, queer, biracial, transgender woman, Khwaja Sira (Pakistani Third Gender), and former survival sex worker and IV drug user.

Session Description:

In this discussion we will explore issues faced by students in recovery living with HIV/AIDS and how we can better support them. Participants will get education on the basics of HIV and the origins of harm reduction as a response to the HIV/AIDS crisis of the 80’s and 90’s. We will discuss ways to promote HIV prevention in collegiate recovery communities, understand the unique role of HIV-stigma in recovery, and participants will take part in the Student HIV Awareness and Reduction Pledge (S.H.A.R.P.). The SHARP pledge will help to prepare participants to take the knowledge gained from the session and apply it to their campuses, collegiate recovery communities, and in their personal lives.

Understanding Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in Collegiate Recovery Using an Intersectional Lens

To view the recaptioned version, click here.

Download the presentation slides here.

Presenter Bio:

Dr Kristine De Jesus is the Founder of The Wellness Cooperative and the Coordinator of Alcohol and Other Drug Program, Montclair State University.

Dr. De Jesus is an author, entrepreneur, and activist. She is co-host of the Engage Recovery: Meeting at the Intersection Podcast and founder of The Wellness Cooperative, a wellness center dedicated to serving BIPOC folx in recovery from Substance Use Disorder. Dr De Jesus attended Rutgers University where she earned a BA in Psychology and Puerto Rican Studies.

She holds a Masters in Organizational Behavior from Alliant International University, and a doctorate in Clinical Psychology from the California School of Professional Psychology where she specialized in Cross Cultural and Health Psychology. Dr De Jesus’s area of expertise is recovery, equity, intersectionality and strategies for reducing health disparities.

Session Description:

The Understanding Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in Collegiate Recovery Using an Intersectional Lens discussion is focused on creating a working knowledge of how identities, power and privilege inform the development of collegiate recovery programs grounded in equity. This session will use the Wheel of Intersectional Identities ©  tool to help facilitate the discussion and allow participants to begin assessing ways in which their programs could be more diverse, inclusive, and equitable.

Including Trans and Gender Non-Conforming Communities in Collegiate Recovery

To view the recaptioned version, click here.

Download the presentation slides here.

Presenter Bio: 

Dharma Mirza (she/her) is the 2020-21 ARHE Justice & Equity Fellow. Dharma attends Oregon State University, studying Public Health, Queer Studies and Medical Humanities. Dharma focuses her work and research on harm reduction, sexual health, addiction, public health equity, and the intersections of behavioral health and marginalized health populations. Dharma informs her work through intersectional, feminist, and decolonial frameworks and draws on her own experiences in navigating health/harm reduction services as an HIV-positive, queer, biracial transgender woman, Khwaja Sira (Pakistani Third Gender), and former survival sex worker and IV drug user. 

Session Description: 

In this session we will explore issues of gender equity and inclusion and ways that folks can work to make their CRC/CRP more inclusive for trans, gender non-conforming, and gender diverse communities.

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