A personal look at substance abuse disorder and recovery

A recovery high school provides unique help for substance use disorder. (Getty Images)

Most people in recovery will tell you that the decision to enter recovery must be made on one’s own, but it is sustained through community.

Mid-December 2017 was the moment for me. I find winters to be brutal in general. When the sun dwindles down to nothing, my muscle memory tends to revisit the depths of my past traumas, most with anniversaries in the late fall. And that particular winter, I felt like I barely had a fighting chance to make it through. It was also when I decided, smack-dab in the middle of the holiday season, that I needed help and needed to get control of my alcoholism once and for all.

I was in my mid-thirties, fully employed, with a supportive family, and able to drive myself to my 12 Steps program. And it was still one of the hardest things I had done in my life. So, as I sat in a packed room this past fall listening to the stories of the students and graduates of Hope Academy Recovery High School, I was in complete awe of their resilience. I simply can’t imagine what it would be like to face substance abuse addiction disorder so fiercely while also navigating being a kid. 

Indiana’s recovery efforts include facts about substance use disorder and links to treatment.

In the United States, 80% of students relapse from recovery upon returning to their high school after having primary treatment for substance use disorders. At Hope Academy, students are offered an environment where their recovery is as much of a priority as their academic success. 

In return, students who receive ongoing support for substance use issues have higher graduation rates, lower absentee rates, and are more likely to abstain from using substances.

It is heartbreaking to imagine what it must be like as a parent, knowing your child needs help and not knowing where to turn. For too many families, recovery high schools simply do not exist in their state. Luckily for Hoosiers, we have one of only nine high schools in the United States accredited by the Association of Recovery High Schools at Hope Academy.

Hope Academy prioritizes supports for a student’s entire family. Parents and loved ones play an integral role in their students’ journey of recovery and receive the same guidance, support, and encouragement from staff while connecting with other parents experiencing the same challenges. 

Fighting addiction, stigma

Diminishing resources for families facing addiction makes Hope Academy crucial to the fabric of our community and is vital to reducing the stigma around substance abuse disorder.

One of the hardest lessons for me to learn in my own recovery is how unnecessary and harmful shame is along this journey. By speaking openly about our experiences in recovery and ensuring that everyone — not just the recovery community — actively advocates for programs like Hope Academy, we can diffuse this harmful stigma and continue to empower our students, family members, and neighbors to their highest potential. 

As bell hooks said, “Rarely, if ever, are any of us healed in isolation. Healing is an act of communion.” The work Hope Academy does as Indiana’s only recovery high school is crucial to our state’s path to healing our dangerous rate of substance abuse disorder. 

The students of Hope Academy are the most courageous people I know. They have overcome challenges that people many years their senior may never conquer. This is because of the commitment that Hope Academy has made to our community to stand alongside these students and their families during their darkest days.

We, as a city and state, can make that same commitment—to stand with them, support their work, and give the next generation of young people experiencing substance abuse disorder a fighting chance.

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