Drug Rehabilitation Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Local Outcry Spurs Beckley To Drop Addiction Recovery Resource Expansion

Last month, Beckley was poised to become the first city nationally to earn a special status for its addiction recovery resources. But on Tuesday, Beckley residents packed a meeting of the Beckley Common Council to express concerns over the plan.

Last month, Beckley was poised to become the first city nationally to earn a special status for its addiction recovery resources.

Now, the city has dropped that plan entirely.

By creating new recovery resources — like an addiction advisory council and recurring community destigmatization events — Beckley would have earned the international status of “inclusive recovery city,” joining 26 other cities around the world.

But on Tuesday, Beckley residents packed a meeting of the Beckley Common Council to express concerns over the plan.

Some said Mayor Rob Rappold had adopted the plans without first accepting public comments or seeking council approvals.

Others claimed the new resources would over-extend public resources and draw more homeless people to the city.

Mary West, a Beckley resident and former council candidate, expressed disapproval of the plans and homelessness in the city.

There are “all these homeless people that I see walking through here, and they’re in front of my house, throwing backpacks in my yard with drugs,” she said.

During the council meeting, Rappold said he was surprised to hear the plans had garnered any backlash, maintaining that they would benefit the local community.

But on Thursday he dropped the project entirely, echoing national trends.

Resident concerns over homelessness and drug use have delayed rehab centers in the Bronx, Boston and North Carolina, blocking rehab expansions as overdoses rise nationally. For years, West Virginia has had more overdose deaths than any other state.

James Phillips, the local addiction recovery advocate who spearheaded the project, declined to comment on this story, and referred West Virginia Public Broadcasting to a Wednesday press release.

“The purpose of an inclusive recovery city is not to establish a sanctuary city or initiate a radical shift in approach,” he said in the press release. “It is not a program designed to attract or increase any capacity, and it requires no city funding, assets or grants to implement.”

In response to community concerns, Phillips will host a presentation and community discussion on the plans March 19 at 9:30 a.m. at 410 Neville Street in Beckley.

Phillips said that the project aimed to bolster support for residents experiencing addiction, and “walk aside them, offering hope [and] encouragement.”

The City of Beckley is an underwriter of West Virginia Public Broadcasting.

All-Female Drug Rehab Facility to Open in Raleigh County

Construction is underway for an all-female drug rehabilitation facility in Raleigh County.

WVVA-TV reports Leon Brush and his wife, Donita Brush, decided to create The Sparrow’s Nest to mimic the treatment and success happening at Brian’s Safehouse in Mount Hope. The couple founded the non-profit organization, which has been in operation since 2008.

Leon Brush says the program at the women’s center will be a little different than the treatment at Brian’s Safehouse. He says women at The Sparrow’s Nest will not only learn about sobriety but will also learn how to live and get along with other people in a different environment than what they’ve had before.

Brush says once up and running, the program will treat about 10 women each year.

Lily’s Place Hoping to Open Soon

Lily’s Place, a drug rehabilitation facility for new born babies in Huntington, is still trying to open its doors to babies in need in the region.

Since being designated a nonprofit organization last spring Lily’s Place has seen an outpouring of support and donations from the Huntington and surrounding community. The problem for Mary Calhoun Brown, one of the many helping to get the facility off the ground, babies are still nowhere to be found. Brown said it’s been a slow process because they’ve had to make a lot of renovations to the donated building to meet state regulations, things such as adding a sprinkler system and installing an emergency generator.

“It is a little bit frustrating when you put your trust and hope into the hands of other people because I can’t say this is how we’re going to be licensed, I can’t say,” Brown said. “If I could I would and we’d be done and we would have babies by now, but I think we just have to know that things don’t always happen in our timeline.”

Brown use to be a volunteer “cuddler” for drug exposed babies at Cabell Huntington Hospital in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. From there she decided something had to be done for babies born addicted to drugs or alcohol. She along with others in the community have collected donations ranging from a building, to diapers in establishing Lily’s Place in Huntington.

The approximately seven thousand-square-foot building will house 17 nurseries. Babies will be transferred there from facilities that have NICU units, so they can then be cared for a little longer than the hospitals can.

Brown said much of the holdup now is in waiting for state officials and the Department of Health and Human Resources to classify the facility. Brown says since it’s a facility like no other in West Virginia, there is confusion on how to deal with Lily’s Place.

That uncertainty has slowed things down as the DHHR tries to figure out how to designate the facility. The ability to receive Medicaid money depends on how Lily’s Place is designated. That money could be crucial in helping Lily’s Place continue to function once the doors are open.

“Funding is going to be an ongoing concern because obviously because if we’re reimbursed for patient care through Medicaid that doesn’t pay for a hole in the roof, it’s going to be a long-term issue with keeping the building up and running, writing grants and subsidizing our income with community events and whatnot,” Brown said.

Brown though isn’t worried about the community stepping up. So far people have come through by donating diapers and supplies and decorating nurseries with their own money. They hope to have a decision from the DHHR in the new few weeks.