In an op-ed for the Patriot News, Lebanon Valley College President Lewis E. Thayne announced a new program in which students recovering from drug addiction will live in a special Collegiate Recovery House staffed by a Caron employee.
In its first year, the program will be open to up to six Caron alumni. The house will be open 52 weeks a year.
Caron is based in Wernersville, Berks County. The $25m annual revenue company began as Chit Chat Farms, founded by Richard J. Caron, a recovering alcoholic, and his wife, Catherine.
While living in the house, students will be required to attend 12-step meetings and counseling, complete chore assignments, maintain a GPA of at least 2.0, and complete weekly drug and alcohol tests. There will also be a relapse protocol in place.
An ancillary benefit of the program may be causing more awareness on campus of treatments for opioid abuse and dependence, which experts say afflict significant portions of undergraduate populations.