By Stephanie Starks | Staff Writer
The Beauchamp Addiction Recovery Center, or BARC, is a Baylor recovery community that supports students as they journey through college, targeting their’ social and spiritual needs. Students can be supported by professional staff and engage in constructive activities with their peers.
The BARC helps students build practical skills for recovery and well-being through the ReCenter program, held at 6 p.m. every Tuesday in Teal Residential College. Students in the ReCenter program listen to their peers’ stories, participate in guided activities planned by trained staff and engage in supportive conversations.
Jose Vallejo, the assistant director of collegiate recovery at the BARC, said that navigating college life can be overwhelming without healthy boundaries.
“Our desire is to come alongside college students and give them skills to help them create healthy decisions and relationships,” Vallejo said. “My hope is that students can be strengthened … to figure out what their life can look like and how to manage their time effectively.”
According to a Worldmetrics survey, only 11% of college students affected by substance abuse receive treatment from a recovery community.
The ReCenter program engages students with treatment in mind. Vallejo hopes students are “be honest and transparent” with the people around them.
“The opposite of addiction is connection, and I think the longing of every human is to be known, to be seen and to be loved,” Vallejo said. “That is what the ReCenter program is, a place for students to be seen and loved by others.”
Recovery Program Manager Laura Ellis said every student can “find their place to belong.”
“There are students that maybe are not dealing with anything, but they can be allies in this space for other students that might be recovering from a specific struggle,” she said. “Maybe their cup is already filled, but these students can still support others in this space.”
ReCenter is “broad for a reason,” Ellis said. All students are welcome and encouraged to have a space to talk with others.
“Some students are curious about what BARC is, others are stressed from their job or classwork, and some students need help with their roommate,” Ellis said. “I think that ReCenter is a sounding board to learn ways to navigate college. Students will be loved and supported through their time at the BARC.”
“Everyone deserves community and love from people who want to listen to them,” Phoenix senior and Student ReCenter Recovery Leader Madieson Campos said.
Campos, who has been an active member of the BARC community for the past three years, “[has] loved every bit of [ReCenter].”
“I think it’s very important for every student to have a safe space to grow, heal in their college life,” she said. “Students may love their major, they may love what they do for work, but I think it is also important to have something else that gives their life purpose. On days that feel like school or their job is not going how they would prefer, students have this opportunity to join ReCenter.”
