Collegiate Recovery!

Just found this old video and wanted to share!

I remember when we first made this and how nervous I was to share with such a large audience. I had spoken many times in meetings but was very fearful of having something recorded. What if I relapse? What if I don't make any since when I'm speaking? What if...what if?? What if it helps someone seek out the help they need? Helping others and doing my best each day is all I am able to do. I've been told that other people will get you drunk before you can get them sober. I'm not here to tell people they need help. I'm here to share my experience, strength and hope with anyone who is willing to stick around.

This program has come so far! We had three people just today turn in their CRC applications!!
CRC Application link Last year we gave away four $1,000 scholarships!



We took a trip to the Collegiate Recovery Conference and met so many amazing people-- one of which happens to be a transfer here this semester! It is just amazing how people are put in our lives for so many reasons that we can't even fathom at the time.








All these opportunities have been freely given to us, and it still amazes me everyday that I am so blessed to be a part of this amazing program. The relationships and friendships that I have formed have made my college experience so much better. I want to be present and get involved. I know know that my recovery always comes first, and I wouldn't be able to be here if not for it.  Sometimes I can lose sight of that when school gets hectic. I need my fellow students to bring be back down to earth and show me that everything will be fine if I'm putting forth the footwork.

The AA meetings on campus have been going up and down with attendance. Sometimes there are too many people for all the seats, and other semesters there may be 4 or 5 of us. NA hasn't caught on as much, but it is still our first year having it at UNC-Charlotte. So if anyone has advice on how to increase campus participation at meetings, please let us know. We are always looking for suggestions. It is pretty amazing to see the program keep growing and see how far other schools have come as well.





Out at Triple Play Farm for of equine therapy seminar!





Team building at the US National Whitewater Center








We have been so blessed to be able to all share in these experiences and help each other through all the tough times. Sometimes it is hard to relate to a college student without being one. Try being a college student in recovery. Yes, we are the few who can relate on all those levels. It really makes a difference to be able to have this safe place and group of people who really understand.





Having the support of faculty and staff who truly believe in us as students and want to see the best for us has been very encouraging. I use to avoid any type of authority at any cost. Now I know a lot of people on campus. I have learned to utilize my resources and ask for help. I know asking for help is this new big thing in recovery, and I didn't think too highly of it until I saw how well it really works.  For example, being able to speak to my professors on a one-on-one level has helped me see that they are there to support me as a student. I'm not saying I tell everyone I meet my entire story but for the most part people understand or at least sympathize.





It is truly the little things in life that add to my happiness! Please follow our blog if you aren't already! :)
Have a blessed day and remember your Recovery comes first. Otherwise you wouldn't have those problems of privilege, which can be so simple as having the opportunity to be in college. I am so grateful!

Get Excited about your RECOVERY!!

 COME CELEBRATE WITH US!!

THE DATE HAS BEEN CHANGED TO THE 28th and will be the last Friday of every month. 

UNC-Charlotte CRC

Days, Months, Years, everyone is welcome to come celebrate!! 

Online drug trade?

WSOC News had an interview with our first graduate of UNC-Charlotte's Collegiate Recovery Community!! The interesting information on drug trade on the internet is just astounding.

Hillary Belk's Interview

By Nate Stewart

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — 

There's a new concern about illegal activity happening on social media sites like Facebook. Investigators said people in the area are using the sites to deal illegal drugs.

Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter are some of the most popular social media sites, but Shanda Bostian, she says her son used them to deal drugs.

"Hurt. Just hurt. I didn't want to believe my son would do something like that," said Bostian.

Bostian said she started noticing changes in her son Steven: behavioral problems, bad grades, and violence.

"Then I started seeing signs of drug use," said Bostian.

She said she had no idea the extent of her son's addiction, and new business, until she stumbled upon his Facebook account.

"When I opened his inbox messages there were hundreds and hundreds of messages of drug transactions between him and other students," she said.

Bostian said she saw evidence that her son was dealing OxyContin, Xanax, cocaine, and Ecstasy through the social media site. The messages she showed us detailed drug deals, shipments, and even drop-offs on school property. Agents said it's a problem exploding across the Charlotte area.

"It opens up borders," said William Baxley with the DEA in Charlotte.

He said e-trafficking, as he calls it, is on the rise.

"So instead of going to unsafe neighborhoods, the buyer can, from the safety of their home, use the social media to purchase drugs without exposing themselves to the elements they traditionally would," said Baxley.

He said cartels and criminal organizations use social media to reach a large network of potential buyers. He said drug dealers feel the online community is safer than using a cellphone.

"Almost every investigation that we do now touches on the social media on some aspect," said Baxley.

A search warrant we found backs up Baxley's claims. The warrant said a man named Alfredo Alejo, a prisoner at a prison in Georgia, was using Facebook to recruit couriers and coordinate trips, trafficking heroin from California into Charlotte. The warrant said the DEA, CMPD and Mint Hill Police were able to seize 9 pounds of black tar heroin in Charlotte after Alejo placed the order over Facebook.

"It doesn't surprise me that it has moved into this arena," said Hillary Belk, a recovering drug user.

She's now clean, working with UNC-Charlotte's Collegiate Recovery Program to teach students about drug abuse.

"I wasn't OK with me," said Belk.

She's now using her new opportunity to educate students on addiction while provide a safe place to hang out and foster sober friendships. She's also doing the majority of her work, online.

"You can use social media to do the opposite, and that is to move forward the idea that you are not alone," said Belk. "We can use this as an opportunity to continue to counter act it and educating and letting the public know that there is a message of hope out there."

But for parents like Bostian, the reality is tough, sending her son off to rehab and now boarding school, just to keep him offline and off drugs.

"It was the worst thing I've ever went through," said Bostian.

She hopes other parents take notice of what could be going on online.

"I don't think parents are aware of it or if they are aware of it they want to ignore it cause they don't want to have to face it," said Bostian.

The DEA said the online purchase of drugs exposes people to a number of dangerous situations. They said ultimately the buyer does not know exactly what they're getting.

If you or someone you know is seeking help recovering from drugs or alcohol, there are a number of ways to seek treatment for drug abuse in our area.

---

The collegiate recovery program at UNC Charlotte supports college students who are in recovery from addiction of any kind. They offer weekly 12 step meetings (alcoholics anonymous, narcotics anonymous and Al-anon), seminar classes on recovery issues, advisement, peer mentoring, as well as $1,000 tuition scholarships for those who have a GPA of 3.0 or higher and at least 6 months of sobriety. 

 The Dilworth Center in the Dilworth neighborhood helps adolescents, young adults, and adults deal with chemical dependency. They also have relapse prevention programs and on-site drug screening. According to their website, "the adult, 40-session treatment program offered by the Dilworth Center is designed to deliver effective and intensive chemical dependency treatment in a manner that allows participants and their families to continue their work and home routines."  You can find more information on their website. 

 The McLeod Addictive Disease Center has dozens of treatment and educational programs ranging from alcohol abuse to adult substance abuse and methadone programs. According to their website, "McLeod Center offers methadone and substance treatment for opiate dependence in eight outpatient treatment programs across Central and Western North Carolina, with locations in Boone, Charlotte, Concord, Gastonia, Hickory, Marion, Monroe, and Statesville." There's more information on their website.

Found on:

http://www.wsoctv.com/news/news/special-reports/9-investigates-social-media-drug-trade/nbsQG/

Repel for Recovery!

Hey Everyone!!

It is just crazy how things fall into place, especially when my recovery is first. Just a few years ago I felt like there was no hope. My entire world was crashing in around me. Everything I knew of was going horrible and I was all alone. Come to find out everything was mainly in my head. My messed up thinking and rationalizing the most obvious bad decisions. My using and drinking put me into places where I thought I would never be. Fast forwarding a few years later, here and now. I'm in college, clean and sober, part the first Collegiate Recovery Community in NC and working with people in recovery. Who thought this drunk would be flying out to California tomorrow to repel off the side of the W Hotel in Hollywood?? Not me!! That is for sure! I couldn't have told you what the future held back then. Now I know there is hope, even when you feel helpless and worthless, there is help. I felt so alone in a room full of people. I thought being alone was better that people seeing the true me. Today I get to help others or should I say they help me more than I help them. I get to be surrounded with people who truly understand what I am feeling. Being in college and in recovery is such an amazing concept! Just the opportunities that have been sent my way, all the people who I have met, everything has gotten so much better! Just remember you are not alone if you are struggling with this disease. There are tons of people willing and able to help. For me asking for help was the hardest thing I had to do and still to this day can struggle with trying to do everything all by my self. I have learned through trial and error asking for help is totally worth that minute that I might feel uncomfortable. After that minute it seems everything I was either worried about or stressing over is just turned over, or explained

in a very simple way for me.

A friend sent this to me and I thought I would share!

The Over the Edge Repel Event in Hollywood!!

http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/ChelseaSchmidt/hollywood-over-the-edge

 Anna David's Webpage (one of the Celebs who will be repelling with us) She also goes to colleges and speaks on recovery

http://annadavid.com/speaking/

Contact us:

http://wellness.uncc.edu/collegiate-recovery-community-crc

Many faces one voice:

http://manyfaces1voice.org/

Faces and Voices of Recovery:

http://www.facesandvoicesofrecovery.org/

The Anonymous People viewing in Charlotte NC: GET YOUR TICKETS NOW!

https://gathr.us/films/the-anonymous-people

The Anonymous People trailer:

http://vimeo.com/64948005

Young People in Recovery:

http://youngpeopleinrecovery.org/

National Youth Recovery Foundation:

http://nationalyouthrecovery.org/

Standing Tall for Recovery

 We made it on the front page of UNC Charlotte's web page!

http://www.uncc.edu/spotlight/2013/spotlight-standing-tall-recovery

 Its amazing to see that students are becoming more aware of recovery on our campus! 

Yesterday was The Center for Wellness Promotion's big October event, OctSober Fest! Students came out to participate in the fun and games, while of course learning about health and wellness. There were tables set up on sexual health, relationship health, nutritional health, recovery and alcohol awareness. Along with fun and games thanks to Venture, Rec Services, GAMMA, RSA, Scarowinds, the Police Department and many more. Thank you to everyone who came out to volunteer and participate!!! It goes to show how much fun can be had without drinking or using drugs. Back years ago I would have told you that the idea of doing anything without a drink would have been crazy. Now I know that everything is so much better without it!

The support from other students is such a huge part in my recovery and education. I'm really not sure how I would still be here, in college, without these amazing people helping me. School has not been easy this time around but I believe that all good things come with challenges. The second chance and opportunity was given so freely to me, now is my time to put down the footwork and ask for help when it is needed.
I'm not sure why asking for help can be the hardest part of using the tools, but for me that phone can be so heavy when it is time to pick it up. Even writing an email to a Professor to get help. There are so many resources here on campus that are available! Why can it be so difficult to just utilize them?

Knowing what needs to be done and actually doing it is the difference between staying the same and changing. Change is necessary for my continual recovery. We must remain teachable! Everything we go through helps us learn and grow. I am so grateful that today I can see when things need to change and have amazing people who are willing to help. The support I receive is just so amazing!

Today I am grateful. Today all I can do is my best and sometimes by best is poor. Either way all I can do today is try! One day at a time, one moment at a time, one second at a time. I am a young person in long-term recovery, a college student, a employee, a daughter, a girlfriend, and most of all a friend. I can be all these things if my recovery comes first! Balance helps to maintain everything and finding that balance has been the hardest thing for me lately. This to shall pass. I know the sayings but sometimes its hard to see. You just have to believe!