About Us
Who are we?
Auraria Recovery Community (ARC) is the first tri-institutional recovery program of its kind, serving the University of Colorado Denver, Metropolitan State University of Denver, and Community College of Denver, all located on the Auraria Campus in downtown Denver. ARC began as a small group of students and staff discussing goals, hopes, and the need for a community for people in recovery on our campus over pizza in Fall 2018. We are now considered a small-sized collegiate recovery program, offering a variety of free and accessible services. ARC is recognized as an established Collegiate Recovery Program by the Association of Recovery in Higher Education (ARHE).
Our overarching goal is to support students who are interested in seeking support and community within their recovery journey. We define recovery as broadly as possible. While the majority of our members are recovering from substance misuse, many of our members primarily struggled with mental illness or process addictions. We do not have any formal requirements for joining ARC events beyond being interested or curious about recovery.
We value all pathways to recovery, and welcome all people of all lifestyles to our community. We believe in the tremendous healing powers of community and fun, and invite you to join us in the journey of recovery!
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What is Recovery?
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) defines recovery as "a process of change through which individuals improve their health and wellness, live self-directed lives, and strive to reach their full potential.
What is Harm Reduction?
ARC follows a harm reduction model, based upon principles adapted from harmreduction.org
Foundational Principles:
Harm reduction incorporates a spectrum of strategies that includes safer use, abstinence, meeting people who use drugs “where they are at”, and addressing conditions of use along with the use itself. Because harm reduction demands that interventions and policies designed to serve people who use drugs reflect specific individual and community needs, there is no universal definition or formula for implementing harm reduction.
Core principles:
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Accepts drug use as present in our society, works to minimize harmful effects rather than punish or ignore people who use drugs.
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Successful intervention policies focus on well-being, not cessation.
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Those with lived experience have a voice in the programs that serve them.
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Systems inequities and person trauma history affect vulnerability to and capacity for dealing with drug-related harm.
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Understanding drug use as complex and encompassing a spectrum of behaviors, and acknowledges that some ways of using drugs are safer than others.
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Calls for a non-judgmental, non-coercive approach which better fosters reduction of harm.
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Affirms people who use drugs (PWUD) as being in control of reducing their harms and empowers them to share information and support fellow PWUD with strategies relevant to their actual conditions of use.
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Does not attempt to minimize or ignore the real and tragic harm and danger associated with drug use.
Auraria Recovery Community Services
Auraria Recovery Community offers a host of non-clinical services and is able to provide on-and off-campus resources to any student that is interested.
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All Recovery Meetings
Auraria Recovery Community holds weekly All Recovery Meetings on campus and/or virtually through the Google Meet platform. These meetings are student led and are available to anyone who has been or is affiliated with CCD, MSU Denver, and CU Denver. We support all recovery pathways and welcome anyone with a personal connection to recovery.
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Peer Recovery Coaching
Peer Recovery Coaching gives you an opportunity to meet with one of the Certified Peer Recovery coaches that are part of the Auraria Recovery Community. Peer Recovery Coaches "walk side by side with individuals seeking recovery from substance use disorders" and these individuals are typically those who find themselves succeeding in their recovery journey.
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Recovery Resources
These resources are helpful for individuals looking for either on-campus or off-campus services and supports. Both clinical and non-clinical resources and services are identified. Though not all-inclusive, there is a range of community-based supports spanning the care spectrum as well as various treatment modalities.