Human development and family studies professor joins Recovery Rising initiative

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — H. Harrington ‘Bo’ Cleveland, professor of human development and family studies at Penn State, has been appointed to the Pennsylvania Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs’ Recovery Rising initiative.

Recovery Rising works to foster a resilient, diverse and accessible recovery framework in Pennsylvania, including pathways to improved health and wellness, community acceptance, and personal empowerment.

Cleveland joins an advisory commission of individuals in clinical, policy, family and community roles that will work to create a framework of recovery support services. The commission will consider research and data to offer specific steps to implement a full range of recovery options, which will be provided to service providers, community organizations, and policymakers to generate widespread support.

For Cleveland, who has worked with Penn State’s Collegiate Recovery Program for over 10 years, it is important that research play a part in shaping the commonwealth’s policy on recovery.

“I hope to see policies that support removing barriers to people attempting to build and maintain their recovery from substance abuse,” said Cleveland, who studies individual differences and experiences in substance use and abuse. “Recovery is difficult for everyone. But it is especially hard, if not bordering on impossible, for Pennsylvania’s citizens whose efforts to build stable and purposeful lives are consistently blocked by economic and structural barriers.”

The Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs (DDAP) works to reduce the stigma of recovery, increase prevention programs, strengthen treatment systems, and empower sustained recovery for individuals with opioid use disorder.