The UTRGV Collegiate Recovery Program will host a walk-a-thon in observance of National Recovery Month and to help students and community members dealing with addiction in and out of school.
The walk will take place from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday behind the East Chapel Lawn on the Edinburg campus. The event is scheduled at the same time Thursday at La Sala on the Brownsville campus.
Maria Alejandra Mazariegos, a clinical therapist for the Counseling Center, said the purpose of the walk-a-thon is to bring awareness and understanding of the recovery effort, inform the public of the services that the Counseling Center and Collegiate Recovery Program provide and to celebrate those who are in recovery from an addiction.
Since September is National Recovery Month, this event is UTRGV’s way of connecting to the efforts being made nationwide. Recovery Month is sponsored by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
In an interview with The Rider, Program Coordinator Raymond Salas said, “It’s to celebrate even if it’s one day in recovery, two days, five years, 10 years.”
Participation in the Collegiate Recovery Program walk-a-thon is free. During the walk, members of the CRP will hand out purple T-shirts to participants. Purple represents recovery. Water and snacks will be distributed throughout the route.
The walk is not limited to those affected by addiction.
“It’s not just for students in recovery,” said Richard Clayton, a student assistant in the Counseling Center. “The event, it’s for people that wanna be allies or people that have an interest for some reason.”
This will be the program’s third annual walk-a-thon dedicated to the addiction cause.
Asked what she hopes people will get out of the events this month, Mazariegos replied, “I think it would be cool if this event also helped to break down that stigma and to just start a conversation on college campuses about substance use and alcohol use and recovery and seeing that there is a community that can assist.”
The Counseling Center and CRP encourage students to spread the word throughout campus for those who are not aware of the center’s services and to know that if they are struggling with addiction, they should not be afraid to ask for help.
“It takes more courage to receive help than it does not to,” Clayton said. “So, people who are strong receive help.”
The Collegiate Recovery Program’s services include support groups, mentoring and peer-to-peer counseling. One of the techniques taught in the recovery program is self-management, to empower the student themselves to take control of their addictions, Clayton said.
About 70 different support groups are offered within the program, including groups for alcohol, drugs, SMART Recovery, women’s support groups, etc., along with clinical services provided by the Counseling Center.
For more information on the Recovery Walk-A-Thon or the UTRGV Collegiate Recovery Program visit, utrgv.edu/recovery/.
