About ECU Recovery

Our Story

On May 13, 2014, former Governor Pat McCrory signed the executive order at East Carolina University, one of six University of North Carolina campuses participating in the pilot program emphasizing prevention and treatment. ECU was joined by UNC Chapel Hill, North Carolina A&T, UNC Charlotte, UNC Wilmington, and UNC Greensboro. The Governor’s Substance Abuse and Underage Drinking Prevention and Treatment Task Force will build on statewide prevention, treatment, and enforcement initiatives implemented by the Alcohol Beverage Control Commission, Alcohol Law Enforcement Division, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the UNC system. ECU has implemented education, prevention, and intervention initiatives, including educating students during orientation, integrating substance use education in foundational academic courses, offering programs for groups like fraternity and sorority life and student-athletes, and providing assessment, counseling, and referral resources. The next important step for our campus and others across the state is to build recovery initiatives to help students stop the cycle of addiction. The CRC allows ECU to create a support network of services to assist students along their developmental and educational journey.

Vision

Cultivate a college environment where students in recovery can thrive.

Mission

Supporting Pirates navigating the waves of recovery.

Services Provided

  • Regular check-ins and goal-setting
  • Access to on -campus counseling and support groups
  • Off-campus referral services
  • Dedicated meeting space and recovery lounge
  • Substance-free recreational activities
  • Service learning and volunteer opportunities

Four Pillars of the ECU CRC

  1. Recovery
    Recovery is the cornerstone of ECU Recovery. We expect students who have committed to themselves and their peers to maintain their recovery and utilize the resources available to them to develop a lifestyle conducive to their long-term well-being.
  2. Education
    Through workshops, outreaches, and sponsorship of speakers, ECU Recovery and its members will work together to provide psycho-educational programming education to the students, faculty, and staff of East Carolina University on topics of alcohol and other drug issues to help reduce stigma, dispel myths about mental health, substance use disorders, and recovery, and promote prevention and harm-reduction.
  3. Well-Being
    ECU Recovery is committed to the cultivation of mind and body connection. Utilizing the Five Essential Elements of Well-Being through support groups, workshops, and experiential learning, we seek to assist members in finding their path to long-term recovery and overall well-being.
  4. Service
    Service is a vital part of East Carolina University’s culture and is essential to ECU Recovery. Through service, we can pass on things we have learned to others and pay back to society a portion of what has been given to us. ECU’s Purple Pantry is the official philanthropic service effort of ECU Recovery.