Jon Mark Beilue: ‘Why would we not welcome them?’

Buff CARES program to provide support for students in recovery

By JON MARK BEILUE

More than a year ago, West Texas A&M University soccer coach Butch Lauffer and wife Kim had one of those late-night conversations that was about more than what was on Netflix. One full of real-life issues and what-if possibilities.

They had dealt with a family member with addiction problems. They had close friends who also had faced the issue. Maybe WT could do something, they thought. Maybe WT should do something.

"It's a situation that crosses all socio-economic lines," Butch Lauffer said, "and unless you've actually been through it, you don't realize the hell it puts everyone through. This was totally Kim's idea. I was just kind of the point person with access to the right people. I can be sort of like the bull in the china closet."

Lauffer used his access to carry his wife's idea to WT President Walter V. Wendler, who was an enthusiastic, understanding and important audience. From that idea and initial presentation evolved Buff CARES, an encompassing support program for students in addiction recovery.

Buff CARES-or College Addiction Recovery, Education and Support-will kick off with the start of the fall semester Aug. 26. The program, part of the Association of Recovery in Higher Education, will launch with 10 students and plans to grow as necessary.

Buff CARES, under the administration of Dr. Holly Jeffreys, dean of WT's College of Nursing and Health Sciences, will provide a staff person and host weekly meetings, counseling sessions, provide tutoring, wellness activities and other support. Students will live on campus in a wing at Guenther Hall.

Students must be in recovery for a year to qualify. To remain in the program, they must maintain a 3.0 grade point average and attend counseling sessions and weekly addiction support meetings, such as Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous.

"I have said, and I truly mean it, that we want any student at WT who wants to come here to study and prepare themselves for engaged citizenship in their families, communities and professions," Wendler said. "People in recovery for a year or more have proven their willingness to focus and work hard.

"If a WT education can help a student in their recovery and with improving their life, why would we not welcome them with open arms? We care about students and their families. Buff CARES provides another opportunity for WT to make a difference."

Drugs and alcohol can be tempting in a university environment for this age group, yet WT will be among just 200 nationwide with such a program and only the third in Texas offering on-campus housing.

But when planning the implementation of the program, University officials didn't have to travel far to look at a model program. Texas Tech University in Lubbock has one of the oldest in the country, one that started in 1986.

What was formerly College Recovery Communities at Tech is now the Center for Students in Addiction Recovery. Dr. Vincent Sanchez, the interim director, was an open book in showing those at WT how the center worked.

"He was a fantastic guide and let us really pick his brain. He was awesome," Lauffer said. "They are considered the gold standard. They have been one of the premier programs in this for a long time. They have a unique history, starting basically in a closet."

Tech now has a 32-bed facility. At WT, Buff CARES students will live in Guenther Hall. Having them on campus is important, Lauffer said.

"At first, we thought we'd house them off-campus in an apartment," he said, "but the more we got into it and the more research we did, we thought that was not the way. We are trying to help transition these college students back into everyday life, so housing them away or almost hiding them, per se, was really not the right way."

'I had a fraternity without the partying'

Cruz Luna, 41, is a civil engineering design technician in Canyon and member of the Buff CARES advisory board. Luna is in a unique position on the board, as a former student in Tech's College Recovery Communities. A nontraditional student, Luna entered the CRC program at Tech in January 2020, several years after graduating from Canyon High School.

"College can be extremely stressful, and being an older student and returning to college I didn't have that fraternity or group to be a part of," Luna said. "When I walked into the program, their arms were open and were able to help me with my stresses - how to handle classes, a work balance, things like that.

"I had a fraternity without the partying because we're all sober. We were all from different backgrounds but had a lot in common and were ready to help each other. I'm so appreciative of that place. It helped me so much in my life, recovery and studies."

Buff CARES is for students who are one year into their journey of sobriety, for those who once hit rock bottom in their addiction and are on the road to living in recovery.

"This is not a treatment program, but to support them as individuals and help them in recovery," said Luna, who is approaching eight years of sobriety. "This is kind of a reward to have an opportunity to go back to school.

"Some may have been in the middle of an addiction while in school and had a semester or two left, and they don't want to go back because they're terrified to relive that part of their life. But if they had the necessary support they can think, 'This is possible. I only have 16 credits left. I can do that.'"

Wendler's appointment of Jeffreys to oversee the program legitimized Buff CARES, said Lauffer, who called the dean a "superstar in her field."

Initially, Jeffreys said she was reluctant because she was unsure if it would be successful at WT. Then she dug deeper into the data.

Two things stood out to her. Overall GPAs of those in such programs across the country were higher than the general population, and students in these programs have only a 7 percent relapse rate compared to 70 percent national relapse rate.

"I talked to our provost (Dr. Neil Terry) when I was looking into it, and I told him that I was a little reserved about it," Jeffreys said. "I came back three weeks later and said that I was wrong. This should be 100 percent go for the University.

"When people see 'rehab' or think 'rehab,' it's, 'oh, we know how many go back to addiction, so this is going to be a struggle.' But No. 1, when you're in actual recovery, you come to a point where you're not going back," Jeffreys continued. "So at WT, we want people who meet those guidelines which tells us they are at the point they are really committed to this."

Philanthropic support for the first year has been secured, and fundraising will provide future long-term viability,

Lauffer, like all of those on the ground floor with Buff CARES, is confident the program will not only reach its goals, but it will grow as others in recovery see the benefits.

"I have full confidence in Dr. Jeffreys and her expertise in running a program like this," he said. "The counseling side is her passion. The other thing is I'm a little bit of a sucker in human nature, that all of us need a second or more chance at some point. These kids will realize that people believe in them to have a program like this and will support them as they go through the process."

Lauffer, the longest-tenured coach in WT history, begins his 34th season as head soccer coach of both the University's men's and women's teams. He started both programs and now has a combined 559 wins and has been named Lone Star Conference coach of the year six times.

"I've been fortunate to have the same job for 34 years, and we've won a lot of soccer matches," he said. "But if this program becomes what I think it will be, it will mean more to me than winning anything in soccer. I really mean that."

Top photo: Coach Butch Lauffer, right, and wife Kim walk through the courtyard in Guenther Hall, which will house students in the Buff CARES program. Students in recovery from substance abuse will live in Guenther and take part in an active sober lifestyle community.

Do you know of a student, faculty member, project, an alumnus or any other story idea for "WT: The Heart and Soul of the Texas Panhandle?" If so, email Jon Mark Beilue at [email protected]

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