BLACKSBURG, VA – College looks different for everyone.
But Virginia Tech sophomore Caroline McInnish’s first semester of college took a turn she never expected.
“I found myself for the second time in a month in a Montgomery County holding cell,” McInnish said.
She was only 18 - but found herself in a hole she couldn’t climb out of when it came to alcohol.
“I wasn’t trying to go out and be a party and go crazy. It was a real intersectionality of a cry for help and trying to self-medicate. I was struggling and I didn’t know how to cope with that,” she said.
Her mom picked her up from that jail cell - and immediately dropped her off at a Virginia Tech recovery meeting.
“I walked in and I was really scared. You don’t really know what to expect,” she said.
The recovery community started at Tech in 2015 - and has grown as more and more students have discovered there’s a place for them.
Kaitlin Carter is the assistant director of the community and says people don’t have to struggle alone.
“Exist in spaces where folks have common lived experience and common shared struggle so that way they can continue motivating each other,” Carter said.
For the first time this year - those students can live together in a community on campus called ‘The Roost.’
It’s more than just living with someone who is also going through recovery. There’s a lounge, mentors, meetings and more to support those recovering.
“Having a space for these students who are trying to make these changes in their life, among their peers who are also trying to make those changes - how crucial is that?” 10 News Reporter Abbie Coleman asked.
“It’s honestly extremely crucial. It’s extremely pivotal and has been life changes for those students who have made the decision to be a part of this first year of ‘The Roost,’” Carter said.
McInnish lives in ‘The Roost’, walking through recovery with her roommate.
“I think throughout the school year having this as an opportunity for someone who’s in a moment of crisis. That they can have a bit of a break of relief and be able to move out of the living situation that might have been causing crisis was to be able to come into a place where every single day I walk past the recovery community sign,” McInnish said.
So far, five students live in the recovery dorm, with applications opening at the end of the month for any student who would like to apply to live there next year.