New funding helps more UCalgary students find support in addiction recovery
By Emily Milligan, March 26 2026—
Sandip Khanal knows the grip of substance abuse firsthand.
As a peer recovery navigator at UCalgary’s Recovery Community (UCRC) and Recovery on Campus (ROC), he draws on his own lived experience to help others facing the same battle.
“I was struggling,” he said in an interview with the Gauntlet. “I thought I was struggling with it by myself.”
Now, Khanal wants others to know they’re not alone.
Finding comfort within UCRC gave him the courage to speak openly about his struggles and challenge the personal stigmas he once carried.
“Sharing stories and having the sense of belonging that comes with it is beautiful, it creates community,” he said. “That is the main motive of the recovery community.”
As an initiative within the UCRC, UCalgary’s ROC, announced in a Feb. 19 press release the launch of the Recovering in Place Lab, driven by $3 million in new provincial funding to facilitate research and evaluation to support those in recovery.
The ROC also announced its 2025-2028 action plan to expand recovery support, research and awareness.
The plan aims to reduce stigmas against addiction and recovery, normalizing them on campus. An effort, Chelsie Graham said, the ROC has made a priority for students.
“That self-perceived shame, or community shame, where, if you’re experiencing substance abuse or addiction, then you’re less of a person, or it’s a moral failing, that’s the kind of stuff that these students are growing up hearing,” said Graham, a program manager at ROC and the UCRC in an interview with the Gauntlet.
Khanal admits that, at first, he was hesitant to speak out about his substance abuse because of stigma. He was fearful about how his struggles could affect his academics and future career as a psychologist. Feeling like he had no one to relate to was isolating and difficult to navigate without a support system or a community to lean on.
“People go through these things,” he said. “It is important to have a group of people who support you, where you can be open and vulnerable.”
Speaking from his own experience, Khanal said that belonging and community were key to his recovery and has seen how it’s also helped others.
“The bigger the awareness becomes, the larger the community is. Connection is the opposite of addiction,” said Graham.
ROC peer-led initiatives have been valuable in helping students find support, Graham explained. Open conversations about addiction and recovery raise awareness and create a sense of belonging among those with similar experiences.
“The more connected we are in our community, the more connected we are at the university, the stronger our students will be, and the better outcomes they’ll face,” said Graham.
From 2024 to 2025, the UCRC hosted nearly 300 peer support meetings with 1,125 attendees, 83 per cent of whom reported feeling a greater sense of belonging afterward. 97 per cent said they would return without hesitation.
The UCRC is Alberta’s first campus-based recovery community and serves as the program model for the rest of the province as its flagship operation and headquarters.
Funding from the provincial government will provide $75,000 per year to additional post-secondary recovery communities, including the University of Alberta, Red Deer Polytechnic and Mount Royal University, as well as providing seed funding for 22 other publicly funded institutions to support recovery initiatives.
Behind these investments are students, like Khanal, whose lives have been shaped by these programs.
Despite the hardships, Khanal said he’s grateful for his journey, as it led him to the Recovery Community and now allows him to help other students walk the path he once walked. He hopes that sharing his stories will help students realize they do not have to face recovery alone.
If you are concerned about drinking or other addictions, contact the Harm Reduction Support Advisor or the Addictions Hotline available 24 hours at 1-866-332-2322.