Recovering in Place Lab was launched in 2021 by Dr. Victoria Burns. Her team is comprised of researchers, practitioners, and people with lived and living experience (PWLLE). 

A note from Dr. Burns:

As a want-to-be geography doctoral student, "place" was the guiding concept in my dissertation.

In basic terms, place is defined as a meaningful physical location. I've long been interested in the role of the physical environment on well-being. This may explain why I became a home care social worker committed to helping older adults 'age in place.' I learned a lot about someone's mental and physical state by opening their fridge.

As a person in long-term recovery from addiction, I understand how important it is to create recovery-friendly communities - including our places of study, work, and play7 - because this is where long-term recovery occurs. Not in hospitals or detoxes, but in our everyday communities.

RIPL is committed to transdisciplinary community-based action research that recognizes that recovery requires more than personal change; it requires co-creating environments where people can pause, and find a sense of community, purpose, and belonging.

RIPL has already had tangible, rippling impacts beyond the ivory tower. Our action-oriented research has inspired been the creation of the UCalgary Recovery Community --> which expanded into Recovery on Campus Alberta - the 1^st province-wide collegiate recovery initiative in Canada.

As a person in long-term recovery, I am committed to hiring, training, and including people with lived/living experience. We need more addiction recovery researchers at the table.