When you hear the term “alumni,” you probably think of people who have graduated from colleges or universities.

An alumnus is a graduate or former student of a particular school, college, or university; or a former associate, employee, member of a certain association or club. Alumni groups are not purely for social gain but are also used as support networks. Alums are people who are walking a similar path with a shared goal in mind.

When the concept of alumnus is applied to addiction treatment facilities or rehabs, the results are even more outstanding.

Alcoholism and drug addiction are incredibly isolating. Individuals tend to spend more and more time alone as their disease progresses. During treatment, an important sense of comradery is introduced, and alumni programs can help maintain this element in play long after a person’s stay in treatment. Many treatment centers offer clients an alumni program, where they can receive continued support through aftercare services. Most addiction rehabilitation centers only require that you have completed their program before qualifying to be an alum.

Navigating early sobriety can be pretty dicey, so when it comes to support channels, the more the merrier. Here are 7 reasons to get connected with an alumni program:

• You will never be without a helping hand in your recovery journey.
• You will have continued access to aftercare services.
• You can smoothly transition from treatment to early recovery.
• You can get advice from other alumni who are further along in their recovery.
• You can get involved in the recovery community around people you are already comfortable with.
• You can give back to the community and give hope to others in recovery.
• You get to enjoy socializing sober at alumni events and meetings.

If your addiction treatment center offers an alumni program as part of their aftercare, you are one of the fortunate, as not all rehabs have the resources to afford one. Taking advantage of your treatment center’s alumni program won’t only benefit you and your loved ones, but it will help those who enter treatment after you–the ones to whom you can give hope.