University of Calgary launches Recovering in Place Lab

'Recovery on Campus' program has launched at U of C after getting $3 million from the provincial government. The program offers recovery coaching for students.

An initiative aimed at supporting addiction recovery in post-secondary settings is launching a new three-year action plan backed by new provincial funding.

Recovery on Campus unveiled its 2025 to 2028 Action Plan and a new Recovering in Place Research Lab Thursday at the University of Calgary after receiving $3 million from the Alberta government.

The newly-launched Recovering in Place Lab is designed to study how recovery supports can be built directly into campus life, bringing research, education and peer-based programming together in one space.

“The vision is to make recovery visible, valued and supported for everyone,” said Burns.

“The visibility comes from events sharing about recovery -- not making it a shameful thing.”

First started at the University of Calgary and now involving 26 publicly-funded post-secondary institutions, the program provides peer support, recovery coaching, education and research opportunities for students, staff, and faculty.

Organizers say the new funding will help expand recovery friendly spaces and normalize conversations around addiction on campus.

“It’s a source of strength and hope, that’s what we want to do, by bringing it out of the shadows,” said Dr. Victoria Burns, a social work professor who founded the initiative.

“We also provide scholarships to students in recovery,” Burns added. “We’ve distributed over $100,000 in scholarships to students in recovery. So celebrating people in recovery, reducing that barrier to access education as well.

“We (also) do a lot of substance-free or sober events,” she added, “so (we are) trying to normalize the idea that you can have fun and not be intoxicated.”

Burns said the need for campus-based support is significant among young adults.

“Approximately a quarter of young adults aged 18 to 25 will experience substance use disorder. That population is two or three times more at risk than any other age group,” she said.

Recovery on Campus officially launched in 2021 and leaders say interest is growing beyond Alberta, with other Canadian institutions exploring similar recovery-focused programs.