A much anticipated alternative for addiction recovery is now a reality in southern West Virginia. The Four Seasons Recovery Center in Mercer County is part of the West Virginia Justice Reinvestment Act.
State, federal and local representatives as well as participants on Wednesday packed the dining hall of the newly renovated school to celebrate the new option for addiction treatment in the region.
The ceremony opened with a prayer followed by several speakers including Mercer County Circuit Court Judge Omar Aboulhosn. He says he’s glad there’s have an alternative to incarceration.
“There are other cases in which the safety of the community is not an issue. It’s the individual needs are the issue and those appropriate cases this is going to give us a local option,” Oboulhosn said.
Patients are referred to the non-medical detox facility and qualify for the Four Seasons program after a referral from the court system.
The facility is run by recovering addicts themselves and utilizes a 12 step program.
Four Seasons Director Terry Danielson is also a recovering addict and has been clean since November 2011. Danielson says the ceremony is nice and he appreciates the community’s recognition but he knows his work to help people in the region is just beginning.
Right now, the facility in Bluefield can house 20 men. The state plans to double the amount of beds in the second year and provide space for 60 men in year three. Danielson is also tasked with raising funds to remain open after the money from the state runs out. The Justice Reinvestment Act covers the next three years.
Danielson’s story of addiction as part of our heroin series, “The Needle and the Damage Done.”