Virginia Tech recently opened “The Roost”, a dorm section dedicated to students who are in recovery from substance use disorders. The first of its kind, this facility is located on campus within Payne Hall and has space for 14 people with five students already utilizing the facility. The Roost provides students with a safe atmosphere within the college community that can help them navigate the struggles of college and everyday life.

I think that every college campus should provide something like “The Roost” to honor that atmosphere of recovery that some students may need to succeed. Most understand that the freedom that comes with being a young college student also comes with big life choices that can affect the trajectory of their entire lives. With drugs and alcohol so readily available this day and age, recovery should be just as accessible.

The Roost provides some students a “second chance” at college life by helping them reintegrate softly back into the college community during recovery. Some students often succumb to the pressures of trying to seem “normal” and this often leads them into bad situations. Having a dorm full of other like-minded students is one of the simplest solutions a college could offer its students struggling with substance use or other disorders.

Tech students believe that The Roost provides them with a way to break the barrier between them and other students. It sets a precedent and lets other students know that they may be struggling with something and, at the very least, rids them of the elephant in the room feeling. It also lets other students know who they may share commonalities with, and maybe also a few students who they should stay away from.

The Roost gives students a structured and safe atmosphere away from the pressures of substances and everyday life and can allow students not only to succeed but to thrive as well. This can also bring about awareness and let other students who may be struggling silently know that there is help available to them when they are ready to reach out. By recovering out loud, we are reducing the stigma and stereotypes together surrounding substance use and other disorders that cause people to not reach out and subsequently continue suffering or even die.