WKU News

The WKU College of Health and Human Services (CHHS) is proud to announce the establishment of its new Collegiate Recovery Resource Center (CRRC), a comprehensive, trauma-informed support program designed to serve students impacted by opioid use disorder and other substance use challenges.

The launch of the CRRC comes at a critical time for Kentucky. According to the 2024 Kentucky Drug Overdose Fatality Report, 1,410 Kentuckians lost their lives to drug overdose last year, with fentanyl present in over 62% of deaths. Nearly 20% of overdose fatalities were individuals aged 18–34 (college-age students), and nearly half were between ages 18–44 when including nontraditional students. Emergency Medical Services data show that among people with known opioid use disorder in Kentucky, one-third are ages 18–34 (Kaiser Family Foundation, 2022). These realities highlight the urgent need for accessible, campus-based support.

“Our students deserve a campus environment where recovery is supported, stigma is reduced, and help is easy to access,” said Dr. Whitney Harper, Associate Professor of Social Work and CRRC Coordinator. “The CRRC is intentionally designed to connect students with compassionate, evidence-based services that can change and save lives.”

Housed within the CHHS Student Wellness Program, the CRRC will provide referral-based, trauma-informed peer recovery support tailored to the unique experiences of college students. The CHHS Wellness Program uses a multidimensional wellness model encompassing ten areas of well-being: creative, digital, emotional, environmental, financial, intellectual, occupational, physical, social, and spiritual.

A Student Wellness Navigator will help students access campus and community resources, build healthy routines, and engage in recovery-supportive programming. All CRRC participants will receive resources to help them find their niche on campus, get connected, and experience a better and more balanced quality of life.

“The CRRC aligns perfectly with our mission to promote holistic well-being for every WKU student,” said Julie Jones, MSW, Student Wellness Navigator. “By integrating recovery support within our existing wellness framework, we’re able to meet students where they are and walk alongside them toward healing and academic success.”

The CRRC will operate in close collaboration with the WKU Counseling Center, which currently serves students with substance use needs but lacks an intensive, recovery-oriented program structure. Counseling Center staff will be trained in CRRC procedures to help identify eligible students and connect them to the new center.

The CRRC’s primary behavioral health partners, JourneyPure and LifeSkills, will provide direct clinical treatment, including detox, residential, outpatient, therapy, and certified peer coaching services.

“We know that sustained recovery is strengthened when students have pathways toward meaningful careers,” said Dr. Harper. “WKU is uniquely positioned to offer both support and opportunity.”

Dr. Tania Basta, Donald R. and Irene S. Dizney Dean of the College of Health and Human Services, said, “We are thrilled to establish the CRCC in CHHS.  We are always striving to advance support services that increase quality of life and facilitate student success, and the CRRC does this by providing additional assistance and guidance to students affected by substance abuse.”

The Collegiate Recovery Resource Center (CRRC) Grant Program is a statewide initiative led by the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education (CPE) and supported by funding from the Kentucky Opioid Abatement Advisory Commission. Launched on July 1, 2025, the program provides one-year implementation grants to selected public colleges and universities across the Commonwealth to establish campus-based recovery centers.

For more information about the WKU Collegiate Recovery Resource Center, click here.