Fellow’s Profile
Fellow’s Profile
Collegiate recovery programme
Supporting students with past issues of addiction through peer-led connection approaches
2017
North East
I am the CEO of Recovery Connections, a lived-experience recovery organisation based in the north east of England.
In 2017 I was awarded a Churchill Fellowship to visit collegiate recovery programmes in the USA, an entity that is not considered in the UK. My first introduction of collegiate recovery programmes was whilst watching The Anonymous People in 2013, a film that influenced the visible recovery movement. Having led on an abstinence-based residential rehab, it seemed obvious that students in recovery would benefit from peer support on campus owing to the hedonistic lifestyle of student life and stressors of study.
Since completing my Fellowship in 2017, I have successfully established a collegiate recovery programme at Teesside University and influenced the development of others nationally.
Since 2015, I have been Chief Executive Officer of Recovery Connections, a Lived Experience Recovery Organisation in the North East of England. Through this work I see the impact of addiction, and the related stigma on the lives of individuals who look for support, plus their families and wider communities.
By Dorothy Smith, 2024
Charity CEO Dorothy Smith (CF 2017) has announced that the University of Chester has become the second UK university to sign the Recovery Friendly Uni pledge. Dorothy works through Recovery Connections to support students recovering from addictions. Find out more about the Recovery Friendly Uni pledge on the charity's website.
By Dorothy Smith, 2023
Charity CEO Dorothy Smith (CF 2017) has been awarded Charity Leader of the Year, in The North East Charity Awards this month. The work of her charity, Recovery Connections, has also featured on BBC News for the support it has provided to students at Teesside University in Middlesbrough.
By Dorothy Smith, 2021
The work of charity CEO Dorothy Smith (CF 2017) has been mentioned in the UK Government’s Drug Recovery Champion annual report, published this month. Dorothy’s Fellowship explored how college and university recovery programmes can help students overcome addiction.
By Dorothy Smith, 2021
All Reports are copyright © the author. The moral right of the author has been asserted. The views and opinions expressed by any Fellow are those of the Fellow and not of the Churchill Fellowship or its partners, which have no responsibility or liability for any part of them.
Since 2015, I have been Chief Executive Officer of Recovery Connections, a Lived Experience Recovery Organisation in the North East of England. Through this work I see the impact of addiction, and the related stigma on the lives of individuals who look for support, plus their families and wider communities.
By Dorothy Smith, 2024
Charity CEO Dorothy Smith (CF 2017) has announced that the University of Chester has become the second UK university to sign the Recovery Friendly Uni pledge. Dorothy works through Recovery Connections to support students recovering from addictions. Find out more about the Recovery Friendly Uni pledge on the charity's website.
By Dorothy Smith, 2023
Charity CEO Dorothy Smith (CF 2017) has been awarded Charity Leader of the Year, in The North East Charity Awards this month. The work of her charity, Recovery Connections, has also featured on BBC News for the support it has provided to students at Teesside University in Middlesbrough.
By Dorothy Smith, 2021
The work of charity CEO Dorothy Smith (CF 2017) has been mentioned in the UK Government’s Drug Recovery Champion annual report, published this month. Dorothy’s Fellowship explored how college and university recovery programmes can help students overcome addiction.
By Dorothy Smith, 2021
All Reports are copyright © the author. The moral right of the author has been asserted. The views and opinions expressed by any Fellow are those of the Fellow and not of the Churchill Fellowship or its partners, which have no responsibility or liability for any part of them.
