A UCSB Recovery Program ramps up efforts to keep community safe following one student’s fatal overdose during Deltopia weekend

SANTA BARBARA, Calif.— Following the fatal overdose of a UCSB student during Deltopia weekend, a campus program is ramping up efforts to keep the Isla Vista community safe.
  
The fatal drug overdose that took the life of 21 year old UCSB Physics student Jude Quirinale has left many heartbroken. 
 
“We're a very close campus and community. And so any loss of life affects us all very deeply,” said UCSB Alcohol and Drug Program Director Jackie Kurta.  
 
Kurta wants people to know that the ‘Gauchos for Recovery Center’ is here to help. 
 
“We have our Gauchos for Recovery program. We have other support programs for you. If you do choose to use substances or experiment recreationally, we want you to understand that if if things aren't going the way you expected or if it's not working well for you and any aspect of your life, come and talk to us,” said Kurta.
 
The Recovery Program offers grief counseling services and others resources, like access to Narcan and Fentanyl test strips.
 
This is all free of charge.  
 
Workers here approach tough conversations with a harm reduction philosophy.
 
“People know what they need. It's you need to create an environment in which they feel safe and trusting to be able to talk about that and to be able to share what what the circumstances are that are prompting them to perhaps even acknowledge that they're making choices that don't work for them,” said Kurta.
  
Recovery Program Assistant Manager Hugh Cook explains what helped him during his recovery journey. 
 
“Genuine kindness and firmness and many, many people who were there for me at different moments along the way,” said Cook.
 
Cook has a message for people struggling with substance use.
 
“Remember that one day you might want something different and to keep enough doors open that if you ever feel like you want something different, it's there. And to know that, you know, at any moment you could come into this place, you could walk through this door and find people who really want to explore something different with you,” said Cook.
 
The workers here say recovery is not just about substance use. 
 
They hope more people will approach this issue with empathy and examine the social and economic conditions that challenge someone’s road to recovery.

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