University of Kentucky students in recovery were offered a space to reflect on personal stories and connect with others over plates at first “Recovery Friendsgiving.”
The event took place on Tuesday, Nov. 19, at the Hillary J. Boone Center, and was sponsored by UK’s Collegiate Recovery Program, which was started this semester by CRP coordinator Riley Chatterjee.
“There’s not a lot of space in the recovery community for college students, and then there’s not a lot of space in college for people who are in recovery,” Chatterjee said. “So to be able to have a space that is safe for both of those intersecting identities, that’s incredibly important.”
The program’s weekly 12-step recovery meeting was scheduled for after friendsgiving, but with the event’s nature, Chatterjee said she didn’t feel one was necessary.
While all CRP events are open to students seeking recovery support, Chatterjee said “Recovery Friendsgiving” was part of her push to support the existing program members rather than focusing on student outreach.
“If people who I’ve never seen before … come in and have a meal with us today, that would be a massive blessing,” Chatterjee said. “But my mindset right now is so focused on the students that I have because I want to nurture them as much as possible right now.”
Katherine Crain, a nontraditional-aged student majoring in criminal justice and art history, said she is attempting an undergraduate degree again after getting sober following the premature end to her first attempt.
“I struggled in silence for a very long time, and I really sought out people my age that … were going through the same thing because my denial kept me sick for a long time,” Crain said. “I actively sought out people my age who understood this so that I could break the denial and know that I’m supposed to start recovery.”
According to Crain, the CRP offers students facing addiction a necessary outlet to recognize that they’re not ever too young or too sick to start recovery, especially at a large school like UK.
“We’re at an SEC school, and partying and drinking is very prevalent,” Crain said.“To have this here, I’m paying it for the person that I was before I got sober.”
