Temple junior passes bill for campus housing to help students recovering from addiction

He is working with administrators to make recovery housing a reality

George Basile, a Temple University junior, is a member of Temple Student Government and pitched the idea of a safe space for students recovering from addiction.

Basile is a political science student and the junior representative of the parliament of Temple Student Government. Basile was inspired by the news coverage of the growing issue of addiction, as well as, his own and his father’s experiences with addiction.

Basile photographed by Paul Sanchez. 

“I’ve had plenty of personal experiences with addiction; my father included who is in his own recovery process,” Basile said.

The bill for recovery housing was passed and Basile is working on a proposal. The details surrounding on-campus recovery housing are still being worked out. However, the political science student is brainstorming ideas for recovery housing that would be cost-effective and provide opportunities to Temple students.

“We’ll be figuring out most of the logistics through the proposal I’ll be working on with administration,” Basile said. “However, most recovery houses have some basic elements such as mandated group therapy, on-staff therapists, emergency intervention services and clean living. I also think a cost-effective means of staffing the facility would be to utilize master of social work students to provide some of the counseling services to the facility, as well as, gain critical clinical experience for the students.”

The idea of recovery housing has gauged the attention of many people, on and off-campus. Overall, Basile’s idea has captured a positive response from students and administration alike. The idea also has its critics.

“The consensus of opinion has been positive and that’s been heartening to see,” the political science student said. “There has been a small amount of skepticism [as] to how it would be implemented, but after some education most are convinced [of] its effectiveness and feasibility.”

The University is supporting the idea and further action is being taken to make recovery housing an option for Temple students wishing to recover from addiction.

“The first step was the bill passing,” Basile said. “Now the real work begins of working with administration to create a proposal to bring to the Board. I’ll be meeting with administrators in the coming weeks to devise this plan and make it a reality.”

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