WHO WE ARE

What is ROC Alberta?

When you’re struggling with substance use or problematic ongoing behaviours, it can feel like you’re on your own. That lack of connection to people who understand what you’re going through can be a real barrier to recovery.

Recovery on Campus (ROC) is an Alberta-wide initiative that not only supports but celebrates recovery. Recovery on Campus welcomes students, faculty and staff, so if you’re on campus, you have a place here. 

The Foundation for ROC


1 in 5 Canadians will experience a substance use disorder at one point in their lives.


Campus members in, or seeking recovery are a marginalized population on campuses. University tends to be a recovery-hostile environment.


In response, with the support of Alberta Health, the University of Calgary, under the direction of Victoria Burns, Ph.D. RSW, have launched Recovery on Campus Alberta.


Alberta Health recognized post-secondary campuses as a critical gap in Alberta's recovery-oriented system of care. The province engaged with the University of Calgary’s Campus Mental Health Strategy and the UCRC to create Recovery on a province-wide campus community movement called Recovery On Campus (ROC) Alberta where multiple identities, pathways, and stages of recovery are supported and celebrated across the 26 publicly funded post-secondary institutions (PSIs) in Alberta.


ROC is grounded in the tradition of collegiate recovery programs, first established in the USA in the 1970s and Recovery-Friendly Workplace model.


ROC is the central point of contact for services and supports, research and collaborations, and education and training to support recovery communities on campuses throughout Alberta.

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