Leader reaches out to expand campus recovery efforts

A counselor who oversees one of the most comprehensive collegiate recovery housing and support initiatives has worked to expand his influence beyond his one location.

Frank Greenagel and co-managing partner Eric Arauz, both of whom are military veterans, established Recovery Inc., LLC, to offer consultation and training to universities seeking to establish or expand campus-based recovery programs. The organization also works directly with treatment centers. Greenagel also is pursuing a master’s degree in public policy and has been serving on New Jersey’s Governor’s Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse, where he has gotten a close view of local policy topics such as the effects of insurance barriers to treatment.

At this September’s National Conference on Addiction Disorders (NCAD) in Anaheim, Calif., Greenagel will offer a primer on the latest trends regarding the most prevalent street drugs of abuse. His talk on the last day of the Sept. 21-25 conference will address how college communities and others can keep up with and address the latest developments in substance use among young people.

Greenagel says that while a handful of colleges have taken a leadership role on addiction and recovery issues (Ohio State University, for example, now is hosting an annual conference on prescription drugs), many of the actions taken at the university level tend to be reactive in nature.

“It’s almost always a crisis, a death, that spurs people to action,” says Greenagel.

Greenagel says that universities that pave the way for the establishment of campus housing for students in recovery can become national leaders in the support of recovering young people. Yet Recovery Inc. also works with colleges that simply want to initiate efforts by creating recovery-focused activities for students.