Radix Recovery Alumni Program: A Community That Outlasts Treatment
A peer-led community, free for Radix graduates, built for the long run, not the length of a treatment stay.
- Recovery Community · Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Lifetime
Membership never ends
Trusted in-network insurance partnerships
- Wellmark BCBS
- TriWest Healthcare Alliance
- Midlands Choice
- Cigna Healthcare
- Health Choices
- Medical Associates
Free
Alumni programming is free for Radix graduates.
Monthly
Sober events and gatherings throughout the year.
Peer-led
Mentorship pairs alumni with current residents.
Lifetime
Membership has no end date.
- Clinically Reviewed By
- Clinical and Medical Review Record
Last Reviewed
July 2026
- Medically Reviewed By
- Why It Matters
Why an Alumni Program Matters in Long-Term Recovery
Recovery Is Built on More Than Clinical Work
The clinical work of treatment, the detox, the residential stay, the structured outpatient phases, lays the foundation for recovery. What keeps recovery durable over years is something different. SAMHSA defines recovery as a process built on four pillars: health, home, purpose, and community.[1] Three of the four are not clinical services. They are built into a life through ongoing connection, contribution, and relationships.
Community Predicts Long-Term Outcomes
Research on what SAMHSA and recovery researchers call recovery capital consistently shows that the strength of a person's recovery community is one of the most important predictors of long-term outcomes.[2] Adults with strong peer recovery support networks relapse less, return to treatment less often, and report better quality of life than adults with weaker community connection. The American Psychological Association documents that social support is one of the most studied protective factors in behavioral health.[3]
Not an Afterthought
The Radix alumni program is built around that science. It is not an afterthought to clinical care; it is the long-term complement that makes clinical work hold. NIDA's guidance on treatment and recovery emphasizes that ongoing support after structured treatment is central to lasting change.[4]
What Is Included in the Radix Alumni Program?
Alumni programming is a set of standing offerings, free to every Radix graduate, that keep the community connected long after treatment ends:
Program
Sober Events & Gatherings
Monthly sober events at the Radix campus and community venues across Iowa: mixers, dinners, holiday gatherings, outdoor activities, and the annual alumni reunion.
Includes →- Mixers & dinners
- Outdoor outings
- Annual reunion
Peer Mentorship Program
Alumni in stable long-term recovery are paired with current residents preparing to discharge and with newer alumni in their first year, for informal, experience-based accountability.
Includes →- Mentor matching
- Shared experience
- Real accountability
Alumni Zoom Check-Ins
Weekly virtual gatherings for alumni who live outside Cedar Rapids, travel often, or want to stay connected from home, facilitated by alumni leaders.
Includes →- Weekly & virtual
- Alumni-led
- Rotating themes
Recovery Anniversaries
The community marks 30, 60, and 90 days, then 6 months, 1 year, and every year after, because marking time creates meaning.
Includes →- Milestone markers
- Community celebration
- Shared at gatherings
Volunteer & Service
Alumni who want to give back speak at intake orientations, mentor newer alumni, support events, and contribute to outreach. Service is tied to stronger long-term outcomes.
Includes →- Speak at intake
- Run events
- Community outreach
- Marking Time
Recovery Anniversaries, Milestone by Milestone
Recovery anniversaries are a tradition in many recovery communities for a reason: marking time creates meaning. At Radix the whole community marks the milestones, and newer alumni see what is possible.
The First Milestones Early recovery
Thirty, sixty, and ninety days are acknowledged with a card, a check-in, and an invitation to share at a gathering. The early markers matter most when they are hardest to reach.
Half a Year Building
Six months sober is a real turning point, and the community marks it as one. By now the alum is often becoming a steadying presence for someone newer.
One Year Established
A one-year anniversary is celebrated openly. It is the milestone most people in early recovery cannot yet imagine reaching, and seeing it reached changes what feels possible.
Five Years and Beyond Long-term
When a long-term alum reaches five or ten years, the community celebrates publicly. These are the people who mentor, speak, and prove that decades of sober life are real.
Treatment gave me the tools. The community is what kept me using them. An alumni program is not a nice extra, it is where long-term recovery actually lives.
Adam Vibe Gunton
Director of Marketing, Radix Recovery
- For Prospective Clients
Ask Us What Happens After Treatment
A serious alumni program is one of the most important things to evaluate when choosing a treatment center. Our admissions team can walk you through what life at Radix looks like one, two, and five years out.
Sober Events, Mentorship, and Service
Three of the offerings do the heaviest lifting in long-term recovery. Here is what each looks like in practice:
- The Critical Distinction
How Is Alumni Different from Clinical Continuing Care?
They are two different things, and they work best together. One is clinical, one is community, and neither replaces the other.
Continuing care provides the clinical floor; alumni provides the community context. Learn more on the relapse prevention program page.
Who the Alumni Program Is For
If any of these describe you, you are welcome in the Radix recovery community.
(319) 270-2890Speak With Admissions NowSpeak With Admissions NowYou do not age out and you do not graduate from the community. Membership has no end date, and the door stays open whether you were last active last week or five years ago.
- Where Alumni Fits
Where Alumni Fits in Our Continuum
Alumni runs alongside the clinical levels, not in place of them. It is Level 6, the final and longest-running level, designed to last for life rather than for a defined treatment window.
Medical Detox
- 3 to 7 days
Medically supervised stabilization.
Residential Inpatient
- 30, 60, or 90 days
Daily structure and the full therapy schedule.
Partial Hospitalization (PHP)
- Structured days
Intensive clinical days with evenings to practice.
Intensive Outpatient (IOP)
- 3 days/week
Treatment that fits around work and family.
Continuing Care & Relapse Prevention
- 12+ months
Clinical maintenance: therapy, medication, a written plan.
Alumni & Aftercare
- For life
Community and peer support. You are here.
- Serving all of Iowa
Serving Iowa and Beyond
Most in-person alumni events take place at our Cedar Rapids campus, with selected events traveling to other Iowa cities. Alumni Zoom check-ins and virtual gatherings make the community accessible to alumni who live outside Cedar Rapids or travel for work, including alumni who returned home to other states and still participate virtually.
- Eastern Iowa
Our Location
~30 min
~1.5 hrs
~1.5 hrs
~1.5 hrs
~10 min
- Central Iowa
~2 hrs
~2 hrs
~2 hrs
~1.5 hrs
- Northern Iowa
~1 hr
~1 hr
- Western Iowa
~3.5 hrs
~3 hrs
A space built for getting well
Move through the facility one room at a time, the living spaces, the gathering rooms, and the grounds where residents reconnect with themselves.
- Why trust Radix
Credibility you can verify
- STATE LISTED
Listed by the State of
Iowa
Radix is a listed treatment provider on Your Life Iowa, the official addiction-help resource run by the Iowa Department of Health & Human Services.
- Clinical leadership
Years of combined
clinical experience
Across the Radix clinical leadership team, from the founding partners to the chief clinical officer.
- Client rating
Excellent Rating on
Google
Across client reviews of admissions, counseling, detox, and residential care.
- Accreditation
Joint Commission
Accredited
The national standard for safety, treatment quality, and staff training in healthcare.
- Real Stories
Why Families Trust Radix Recovery
- Alumni Program FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions About the Radix Alumni Program
What is a rehab alumni program?
A rehab alumni program is a peer-led community that connects graduates of a treatment center to long-term sober support, regular events, mentorship, and the recovery community that helps make sobriety durable. At Radix Recovery, it includes monthly sober events, peer mentorship, weekly virtual check-ins, recovery anniversaries, and volunteer opportunities. Alumni programming is free for Radix graduates and runs alongside, not in place of, clinical continuing care.
Is the alumni program free?
Yes. The Radix alumni program is free for Radix Recovery graduates. There are no membership fees or service charges, aside from the occasional cost-of-meal contribution at a restaurant gathering. The program is funded as part of Radix’s commitment to long-term recovery, and it is not insurance-billed because it is a community service rather than a clinical one.
How is alumni different from continuing care?
Continuing care, also called the relapse prevention program, is a clinical service: weekly individual therapy with a licensed therapist, medication management, and a written relapse prevention plan, billed through insurance. The alumni program is the community side: peer-led, free, no clinician, focused on events, mentorship, and connection. They work best together. Continuing care is the clinical floor; alumni is the community context.
Do you have to live in Iowa to participate in alumni?
No. Most in-person events take place at our Cedar Rapids campus or elsewhere in Iowa, but weekly Zoom check-ins and virtual gatherings keep the community accessible to alumni who live elsewhere or travel often. We have active alumni participating from across the state and from outside Iowa. The annual alumni reunion is an in-person event many distant alumni travel back for.
What kinds of events does the alumni program host?
Sober mixers and dinners at the Cedar Rapids campus, outdoor activities like hiking and group outings, holiday gatherings that can be especially difficult sober, sober concerts and community events, and the annual alumni reunion. Many months have both an in-person and a virtual option. Events are open to Radix alumni, and some are also open to family members and recovery community partners.
Can I join alumni if I went to a different rehab?
Many of our events are open community gatherings welcoming participants from the broader Iowa recovery community, regardless of where they completed treatment. Formal alumni status, including mentorship pairing, anniversaries, and alumni-specific Zoom check-ins, is reserved for Radix graduates. If you are in recovery and looking for community in Iowa, contact our alumni coordinator and we will tell you which programming is open to you.
How do peer support and recovery community help long-term sobriety?
Decades of research consistently show that the strength of a person’s recovery community is one of the most important predictors of long-term outcomes. SAMHSA’s recovery framework names community as one of the four pillars of sustained recovery, alongside health, home, and purpose. Adults with strong peer recovery networks relapse less, return to treatment less often, and report better quality of life than adults with weaker community connection.
How do I get involved in the Radix alumni program?
If you are a current Radix resident, the alumni coordinator will introduce themselves before discharge and walk you through how to join. If you are already a Radix graduate but have not been active, call (319) 270-2890 and ask for the alumni coordinator; they will get you on the calendar and the email list. If you completed treatment elsewhere, the same number works, and they will tell you which programming is open to you.
- Ready When You Are
Treatment, Plus a Community That Outlasts Treatment
A serious alumni program is one of the strongest signals of a treatment center taking long-term recovery seriously. Our admissions team can walk you through what life at Radix looks like after the clinical phases end. One confidential call connects you, and we can usually have you admitted within 24 hours.
- 100% Confidential
- Available 24/7
Sources and Clinical References
- Federal agencies and national research only