By Marisa Young | Staff Writer
Students are often surprised when they walk through the doors of the Beauchamp Addiction Recovery Center (BARC), Lufkin senior Luke Langston said. Instead of a sterile office with a desk and a physician, they encounter a living room-like space complete with couches, snacks and students doing homework or catching up.
As opposed to only offering a traditional mentor-mentee style of addiction recovery and support, the BARC creates a space for peer-oriented connection and support groups, Langston said.
“As college students, we’re all kind of going through similar struggles, similar triggers or problems,” Langston said. “So it’s really nice being able to sit down with other people that are going through the same things and share your experiences.”
Langston returned to the BARC as a staff member after participating in the One Key group, where he first encountered the transformative value of the BARC community.
“This is one of the first places I got connected to, and immediately the support in the community really helped me,” Langston said. “The opportunity came up to get hired, and I wanted to give back what was given to me.”
Gesturing to a cluster of armchairs, Langston said he attends the peer-support recovery groups, where he can physically and emotionally sit with students who are going through what he did.
“It’s a really cool opportunity to be a support person and to be somebody that I would have wanted when I was going through my recovery journey,” Langston said.
The peer-support element of the BARC is one of its greatest strengths, according to Dallas junior Dominique Samaniego.
“We emphasize that we’re not clinically-based, so the BARC is very much based on the strength of our community and the people that go here,” Samaniego said.
Samaniego said she was first introduced to the BARC by a friend, and she was immediately drawn in by its cozy atmosphere and “strong sense of community.” Samaniego returned as a staff member for the BARC this semester, where she hopes to be a “recovery ally” for her peers.
“I came back and I wanted to work because I also wanted to fill other students’ cups,” Samaniego said.
Vice President for Student Life Dr. Sharra Hynes said peer support is essential in maintaining students’ mental and physical health.
“We know students listen more to peers than they listen to us,” Hynes said. “So that peer-to-peer element of what the BARC does with recovery groups and building that kind of community is a critical component of our success.”
According to Samaniego, the BARC and its events are not exclusive to students in active recovery because “you don’t have to be going through something to help another person.”
“The BARC always has open arms for anybody that’s a student or not a student or an alumni or anything,” Samaniego said. “We always have a place for everyone here.”
More information about the BARC’s resources, events and mission can be found on their website or their Instagram at @baylorbarc.
