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Written by: Sarah Nerad, Director of Recovery, The Ohio State University Higher Education Center for Alcohol & Drug Misuse Prevention and Recovery

 

September is an exciting time on our campuses. School is back in full swing. Football season has started. And it’s National Recovery Month!

Campuses and communities across the country are celebrating this national observance that the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service (SAMHSA) has been supporting every September for 27 years. Recovery Month celebrates the reality that millions of Americans are living in long-term recovery and educates the general public that treatment and recovery support services are vital to ensuring everyone has the opportunity to enter and sustain long-term recovery (Recovery Month, 2016).

There are multiple events occurring on campus this September to celebrate Recovery Month. The Ohio State Collegiate Recovery Community (CRC) is organizing a walk across campus that faculty, staff and students can participate in. They have also created a large signing board where students can sign their name, signifying that they support recovery. Additionally, the CRC is launching its Recovery Ally spotlight campaign that will be visible on social media, across the campus on digital screens and as an advertisement on the campus buses. The Higher Education Center for Alcohol and Drug Misuse Prevention and Recovery is proud to support Recovery Month and the various events occurring at The Ohio State University this September.

Examples of Recovery Month activities that you can implement on your campus include:

Recovery Month walk
Panel of speakers in recovery
Campus-wide campaign
Tabling events
Recovery Month buttons
Recovery Month t-shirts
Social media campaign

Visit recoverymonth.gov for resources to help make your Recovery Month event a success. There are free toolkits, banners, flyers and images that you can use on your social media or website as well as the option to list your campus events on their national event registry.

The slogan for Recovery Month this year is Join the Voices for Recovery: Our Families, Our Stories, Our Recovery! We put a spin on it here at Ohio State to have it read Join the Voices for Recovery: Our Students, Our Colleagues, Our Campus.  How are you raising the visibility of recovery on your campus this September?