The Power of the RIC Community

Rhode Island College’s new Collegiate Recovery Center (CRC), located in the lower level of Building 3 near the food pantry, is designed to empower students in recovery from substance use disorders.

The goal of the CRC is to provide students with peer support and mentoring; recovery-focused activities and sober social events; learning opportunities to build skills, knowledge and confidence; and connections to campus approved services and resources that support recovery.

“We’re recognizing the importance of creating safe spaces to support students as they explore wellness, including recovery from substances and other behavioral health challenges,” says Tonya Glantz, director of the college’s Institute for Education in Healthcare, which teamed up with the Student Success Department to create the center. It is funded through a three-year grant from the Rhode Island Department for Behavioral Healthcare, Developmental Disabilities and Hospitals.

A central feature of the center is the collaboration between two student-led organizations, RICovery and RIC is Well. This partnership ensures that programming is guided by student voices, creating an inclusive and responsive recovery community.

In January, Marianne Raimondo ’09, former dean of the School of Business, reached out to Eric Shoen, executive director of the Rhode Island College Alumni and Foundation, to inquire about furnishings for the center. It needed a couch, chairs and a table.

Shoen happened to cross paths with Cathy Andreozzi of the Tori Lynn Andreozzi Foundation, a Rhode Island organization committed to empowering people through education, advocacy and community connection. She listened and understood. She offered to purchase some of the needed furniture. Not all of it, but enough to spark momentum. And sometimes momentum is all a community needs.

Shoen made more phone calls. He reached out to Cardi’s Furniture, hoping for a partner who might help close the gap. There he found Kimberly Mazza ’06, a proud alumna of RIC who works as a home furnishings professional and interior decorator for Cardi’s.

Mazza shared with Shoen her ties to RIC that went beyond earning her degree. She told him how she had helped design and furnish the residence of RIC’s president as well as the Whipple Hall lobby. Though she couldn’t cover the remaining cost of furniture, Mazza was able to search for clearance items at Cardi’s for the right pieces at the right price.

The CRC is more than a room with furniture. Its heartbeat comes from the students themselves who help shape the center’s programming and reduce stigma. Ultimately, the CRC is a testament to what happens when compassion meets collaboration. It is a story about generosity and how one act inspires another until a room becomes a refuge.

Shoen added, “It is amazing what happens when Rhode Islanders come together with heart, purpose and a shared belief in our students. The Alumni and Foundation is proud to help make these connections possible and to help create pathways to positive change.”

If you are interested in supporting this or any other programs at Rhode Island College, please email the RIC Alumni and Foundation at givingtoric@ric.edu or call the Foundation at 401-456-8087. You can also mail checks made out to the RIC Alumni and Foundation with a note for “Recovery Program” to the Kauffman Center, 600 Mount Pleasant Avenue, Providence, RI 02909.