University of North Texas 
Last month, the University of North Texas Collegiate Recovery Program (CRP) celebrated its 10-year anniversary. Using a peer support method, the CRP offers a safe and supportive community to students who are in recovery from a substance use concern, mental health concern or process addiction.
“At UNT, we understand that we are better together,” said Sonia Redwine, the director of the Recovery and Intervention Support and Education (R.I.S.E.) Center. “Collegiate recovery programs foster an environment where students in recovery can find success in their recovery and in their future without having to sacrifice one for the other.”
The CRP first began in 2012 as a student organization called Eagle Peer Recovery. With the help of the Rehabilitation and Health Studies Department, UNT received grant funding that allowed for the program to be officially established in 2014. In 2020, the CRP moved from Academic Affairs to the Dean of Students Office’s R.I.S.E. Center. As the landscape of recovery has evolved throughout the years, the CRP has evolved with it in order to meet students where they are on their recovery journey. Examples include the addition of harm reduction based recovery support as well as Recovery Ally trainings and support groups for friends and family members of someone in recovery.
Although the CRP is a small program, with 5-10 active members per year, the impact on the students that it serves can be enormous. Rachel Trammell, an alumna of the program who was recognized as one of UNT’s Spring 2024 “Great Grads,” expressed her appreciation of how the program’s support helped her to graduate despite her struggles with depression.
“I don’t know if I would’ve been able to do it without their help,” said Trammel. “I was already on a much better path, but being able to find community and support there was really instrumental in getting me to graduation.”
The CRP’s peer support model allows students the opportunity to serve each other beyond the support that professional or clinical staff can provide. The program hosted 77 support groups during the 2023-24 academic year.