My name is Mack Park, and I work with the Association of Recovery in Higher Education (ARHE).

Do you work or volunteer your time within the recovery community? Tell us about the work you do.

I work with the Association of Recovery in Higher Education (ARHE), which is a 501(c)(3) organization that supports the development of and sustainability of collegiate recovery programs within institutions of higher education. It is the only association exclusively representing collegiate recovery programs (CRPs) and collegiate recovery communities (CRCs), the faculty and staff who support them, and the students who represent them. ARHE provides the education, resources, and community connection needed to help change the trajectory of recovering students’ lives.

A Collegiate Recovery Program (CRP) is a college or university-provided program that includes a supportive environment within the campus culture. CRPs reinforce the decision to engage in a lifestyle of recovery from
addiction or substance use disorder. They are designed to provide an educational opportunity alongside recovery supports, ensuring that students do not have to sacrifice one for the other. ARHE envisions a
collegiate culture that embraces recovery.

Prior to working with ARHE, I worked on campus at a collegiate recovery program that was just getting started. Having access to a program on campus supported my own recovery journey, which began in 2019
after attending a concurrent trauma and substance use treatment program. That collegiate recovery program allowed me to return to school and complete my undergraduate degree ten years after I had started it and
then continue on to finish a graduate degree.

I am a white, queer, nonbinary person in recovery from substance use, trauma, mental health challenges, post-traumatic brain injury, and addictive behaviors. Without the community and supports that were given to
me when I was at my lowest, I would not be here today. I have seen the miracles that happen when people are empowered to pursue education as a pathway of recovery in and of itself — as long as they are adequately
supported in the process.

What reforms would you like to see implemented within our legal, legislative, and/or community frameworks to support individuals in overcoming addiction?

I would like to see the Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act updated to require recovery supports within institutions of higher education, alongside prevention and data collection. Recovery supports are a form of
tertiary prevention, but they also tend to produce much better outcomes for sustainable relapse prevention than prevention and treatment alone.

Recovery helps reduce stigma, change social norms, align institutions of higher education with public-health policies, and help combat the overdose crisis more broadly. Recovery supports also often serve individuals navigating behavioral addictions and mental health recovery, helping create cohesion across communities.

We do recover. And when recovery is supported, entire communities heal.