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The Indiana Daily Student

student life

Struggling with addiction? Students can seek help with these resources

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It can be hard for students struggling with addiction or working on recovery to be sober in college, especially between tailgating, parties and turning 21.

According to a 2017 report by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, one in five college students reported extreme binge drinking or having 15 or more alcoholic drinks in a row in the two weeks prior to the survey. By their late 20s, 64 percent of young adults have tried an illicit drug and 37 percent have tried an illicit drug other than marijuana.

It can be especially hard to be sober at IU. The school ranking website Niche named it the number one party school in Indiana and number seven in the United States for 2019. Last year, police handed out 102 drinking tickets during Little 500 weekend, although this number was down from 166 the year before.

Addiction can affect anyone, no matter his or her age, gender, race, sexuality or economic status. Rapper Mac Miller, 26, died more than a week ago from a suspected drug overdose after a long struggle with alcohol and drug addictions. In light of this news, here are some on- and off-campus resources for students struggling with addiction. 

Counseling and Psychological Services

CAPS is the IU Health Center’s counseling wing. It offers both individual and group counseling sessions, as well as psychiatric care and sexual assault crisis services. 

It also offers over-the-phone consultations for people concerned about a family member, student or friend. For students who have paid the IU Health Fee, the first two visits to the center are free. 

Additional visits cost $35 per individual session, and between $15 and $17 per person per group session depending on the length of the session. Students may be able to get sessions reimbursed, depending on their insurance.

Students in Recovery — Bloomington

SIRB is a student organization formed in 2015 for students in addiction recovery at IU. The group conducts weekly meetings at the Indiana Memorial Union and has office hours throughout the week in the IMU student activities tower. The group welcomes students recovering from alcohol and drug addiction as well as eating disorders and other mental health conditions.

OASIS

OASIS is IU’s alcohol and drug information center, which provides counseling, programming assistance and data on drugs and alcohol to the campus and the Bloomington community.

OASIS’s Journey Program is a brief intervention strategy for students that includes individual and group sessions. Students referred to OASIS by the student ethics office following a drug or alcohol charge must pay $200 per referral. All other students pay $30 per session.

Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and Narcotics Anonymous (NA)

Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous are free group meetings for people interested in overcoming drug or alcohol addiction. Meetings occur every day of the week and the groups’ calendars are consistently updated online. Some meetings are open to anyone interested in the programs, including people who don’t suffer from addiction, while closed meetings are only for people in recovery.

Recovery Engagement Center

The Recovery Engagement Center is a walk-in center created by Centerstone, a nonprofit health care organization that provides mental health and substance use treatment. 

The REC is a low-barrier community center run by volunteers, which means anyone who walks in can receive help. REC provides resources for people interested in recovery and has no expectation of sobriety. 

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