Scott Community College Launches ‘SMART’ Addiction Recovery Meetings.

Self-management and recovery training meetings are coming to SCC thanks to a $1,000 “Honors in Action” grant from the Mellon Foundation and Phi Theta Kappa International Honor Society, facilitated by campus PTK chapter president Chris Bolin, and Vice President Joeanna Moore.

“I’m actually in recovery, so (SMART) was introduced to me a couple of years ago at a facility,” Bolin said. “I knew it wasn’t offered around here, so my big goal was ‘How do we bring recovery to a university?'”

The new weekly SMART meetings at SCC are open to anyone who wants to overcome an addiction and/or stop harmful habits and behaviors related to alcohol, drugs, gambling, spending, relationships, sex, self-harm , food, exercise and others.

Bolin said “younger” generations tend to have a harder time identifying with other, more traditional recovery groups like AA.

“Especially in the beginning because you might not see yourself as just an addict,” he said. “SMART Recovery is a little more inclusive in that we’re trying to help with all addictions, whether it’s food or screen time or mixed with others, like alcohol.”

Now studying psychology, Moore is also a recovering addict.

“I have family members still in active addiction, some who have recovered and others who are unfortunately no longer with us because of it,” which she said drives much of her work in the community and at SCC.

Moore completed the more than 10 hours of training required to facilitate SMART meetings, which he said rely “heavily on group conversation.”

“As a facilitator, I’m there to make sure the conversation continues and to make sure we have a topic,” she said. “You don’t have to be a professional to be a facilitator, and (SMART) will always look for them. My background and just my family background is enough for me to find some purpose in it, so even people who are (meeting participants ) can become facilitators or people who just hear about it on the street and want to help.”

SMART meetings begin with an opening statement covering rules and expectations, followed by a “check-in” for attendees to introduce themselves and share what brought them to SMART.

“Then we can either follow the topic that I have preset in my facilitator’s manual, or we can choose a topic that seems like it would be most relevant to the group,” Moore said. “The cool part about (SMART) is that it allows people who are still using to participate; it’s not like AA, where you have to walk in the door and immediately get sober.”

This way, even those in the “precontemplation or contemplation” phases of recovery can still access SMART tools, strategies, and resources.

“It’s really focused on self-empowerment and motivation,” Moore said. “We can only change as much as we want to, and we learn best from each other… if you can’t bounce ideas off each other, it keeps that conversation at a standstill.”

Bolin said learning from others helped in her recovery journey, as did going back to school. He is now pursuing a bachelor’s degree in physics at SCC, having previously graduated from the college’s engineering technology program last spring.

“My thought is, if we can have (SMART meetings) on the premises here at SCC … that might spark some interest in going to college,” Bolin said. “A lot of these people (probably) need a life makeover, so why not start by getting a new education or a better education and then work your way up from there? I know personally how impactful it has been.” .

SCC held its second SMART meeting on Wednesday. Because the program is still new and the promotional material had not yet been approved by the university, the meeting had only two attendees: Bolin and Brian Griffith, 31, of Davenport.

“I’m definitely filled with gratitude,” Griffith said of the opportunity. “Especially seeing that so many young people like it, they don’t want to go down that path.”

The smaller, more intimate discussion environment provided by SMART meetings was also a plus.

“Selfishly, it was amazing because it was kind of geared toward me,” Griffith said with a laugh. “I’m usually the type of person who likes to sit and listen, but since there were only three people, I had to force myself to participate.”

He said some of the SMART tools, namely the value hierarchy exercise, stood out for his own journey to recovery.

Moving forward, SCC PTK leaders hope to bring SMART meetings to East Iowa Community College’s other campuses in Bettendorf, Muscatine and Clinton. Bolin said he has already promoted the program to local medical and recovery facilities.

“I think one important thing to note is that we’re not looking to replace any other recovery group. It’s not a competition,” he said. “Myself, I’m still an AA participant, and a lot of them (participants) still want to go to a SMART recovery meeting. They’re different.”

Bolin also noted how many traditional recovery programs are faith-based, which can further dissuade an addict from participating.

“We still encourage people to trust their faith in recovery. It’s helped a lot of people, and if that’s what they want, that’s perfectly fine,” he said.

As SCC continues to promote SMART, Bolin suspects an average of five to ten attendees at each meeting.

“My big goal would be to (get) 15 to 20 people there,” he said. “But realistically, if we have five people who need help, to me, that’s still a great meeting.”

Overall, though, Moore said the main goal is for the program to continue after she and Bolin graduate.

“I think just creating an environment where it’s okay to have a problem and have access to help on campus would make a huge difference,” she said.

“It’s a recovery group, so we understand that it’s not going to identify with 100 percent of the population,” Bolin added. “However, we are trying to get the word out to the population that needs it.”

SCC SMART meetings take place on Wednesdays at 5:30 pm in Room 115 of the Urban Campus, located at 101 W 3rd St. in Davenport.