New Alcohol and Other Drug Resource Space Opens in Drexel’s Creese Student Center

The space is located in the lowest floor of the Creese Student Center.

For Drexel University students looking to examine or find support for their relationships with alcohol and other drugs, or just to have another spot to hang out, there’s a new space in the basement of the Creese Student Center.

The Counseling Center set up the Alcohol and Other Drug Resource Space in Room 001 that is furnished with couches, tables and games, along with snacks and drinks for students to use. The opportunity was made possible after the Counseling Center received a grant throughIndependence Blue Cross Foundation to support collegiate recovery programs.

“In general, we’ve been trying to do a lot more promotion around helping our students better understand their relationship with substances in a healthy way and helping them understand what their limits are,” Executive Director of Counseling Tania Czarnecki, PsyD, said. “This space is like a lounge and a place where students can build community and find resources.”

The goal with the Alcohol and Other Drug Resource Space is to make materials available for students to learn about how to approach substance use and misuse. It’s also a chance to build community among people so they don’t feel alone. Czarnecki said the Counseling Center wants to support people examining their relationship with substances — whether they’re sober curious or wanting more sober activities — with a harm reduction approach or with a recovery and abstinence approach.

There are snacks offered in the space. 

There’s a plan to bring games and host events in the space, like open mic nights, zero-alcohol happy hours or outreach programming about building community in ways that don’t involve substances. The Counseling Center has held related and well-attended events in the past; for example, students made tea sachets at a previous event centered around taking a tolerance break from marijuana.

“There are a fair number of universities and colleges out there that do have spaces or programming like this, so for us to have this space, it feels like an important move towards supporting our students around this,” Czarnecki said.

The Counseling Center also provides different types of services for students who may be struggling with substances or have family members who do, including a part-time psychologist, Stephanie Shiffler, PhD, who specializes in alcohol and other drugs. There are also same-day appointments available, as well as a group called Chaotic Families, which is a support group for people who have someone in their family who struggles with substance misuse.

“We also have a lot of outreach programming, like events around psychoeducation and help-seeking behavior, and we’re happy to connect students to resources in the community if they feel like they may need care that’s a little more specialized,” Czarnecki said. “We can always help connect them to the right care for them.”