A program through the Student Health Services center is attempting to deconstruct the stigma behind addiction amongst students.
California State University, Long Beach’s Alcohol, Tobacco, & Other Drugs program will be screening “Anonymous People,” a 90-minute film that documents stories about U.S. students and other Americans from drug or alcohol addictions. The screening will be in the Beach Auditorium on March 25 from 4 – 6p.m.
There will be a discussion panel after the screening of Anonymous People. Jennifer Layno, an ATOD health education assistant encourages students to ask questions and have them answered by those in the Beach Recovery program.
According to the Beach Recovery website, recovery from substance dependence is a voluntarily maintained lifestyle characterized by sobriety, personal heath and community.
“Most people don’t seek help because they feel like they don’t have a problem,” Jackie Provencher, a counselor at New Found Life, said. “It’s a disease and a perception that they don’t think they have a problem. It is important for people to seek help because they will not be able to take care of their addictions on their own and it will continue and progress.”
New Found Life is a residential addiction treatment center in Long Beach that offers cost-effective, individual care for patients, according to their website.
“[Alcoholics Anonymous] is for [recovering alcoholics] to give back to newcomers and provide advice and treatment tools they need so they can go back to their life,” Crystal Rodriguez, a counselor at Twin Town Treatment Center, said.
Twin Town Treatment Center is an intensive outpatient program for substance abuse with numerous locations in Los Angeles and Orange County that has a five-month program in three phases.
“People choose to stay anonymous because they believe that it lowers their standards in society,” senior sociology major Alissa Doan said. “It is important to get peer support because you get to interact with people going through the same process as you.”
The ‘ManyFaces1Voice’ movement is a collaborative effort that has many sponsors and over 23 million recovering Americans, which aims to challenge perception and public responses to the addiction crisis.
“My sister was a former alcoholic and was ashamed of herself,” Doan said. “I wish that she knew of the ManyFaces1Voice campaign so that she wouldn’t have felt so discouraged throughout her treatment.”
CSULB’s Beach Recovery program has a goal of making the university campus a nurturing, affirming environment for students seeking recovery where they can find peer support as well as other recovery support systems.
“Peer support is good for people to know that they are not alone,” Rodriguez said. “It’s about people changing their whole mentality for something they know. The thought is to know that they’re not doing it alone, so the support within a group is a big thing.”
CSULB hosts various events and meetings for students interested seeking recovery. ATOD runs weekly AA and substance abuse meetings.