Drug Treatment Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Drug And Alcohol Abuse Counselors Bring Issues to Lawmakers

Recovery Advocacy Day at the capitol brought a sharper focus this year on the successes and challenges in helping those struggling with addiction get not just sober, but productive. Drug and alcohol counseling specialists from around the state came to petition delegates and senators, voicing support, opposition or clarification on at least 19 key legislative bills.

Joe Deegan is the Public Policy Director for the West Virginia Association of Alcohol and Drug Abuse Counselors. The organization opposes House Bill 2257. If it becomes law, the bill will create extended supervision for some drug offenders, in some cases up to ten years. Deegan said if a violator does their time and follows through on probation, extended supervision can be counterproductive.

“That creates a financial burden, it creates an undue burden for these folks to get back into normal society,” Deegan said.

After lengthy debate, HB 2257 passed in the House, and now heads to the Senate .

Deegan said the group supports House Bill 4457, providing tax credits for hiring those in recovery for substance abuse. He agreed employers do take a risk, but countered that they can reap rewards.

“I’m personally recovering myself, I got hired and feel like I’m a good employee. These days there are a lot of people out there that need a chance,” Deegan said.

Recovery Point West Virginia has 365 beds in facilities statewide. Their development director, Andrew Daniels, said a 25 percent increase in covid related expenses means following through on protocols, making continued legislative funding vital.

“The ongoing process is testing, getting cleaning supplies, changing our cleaning schedules to make sure everything is clean throughout the day,” Daniels said. “There was no budget, no expenses put aside for anything like that.”

Addiction specialists said they can’t help people get clean and sober without legislative understanding of the help they need.

Drug Offender Treatment Program Touts 3 Years of 'Success'

A program aimed at offering low-level drug offenders treatment instead of jail time has been deemed successful years after it began in a West Virginia county that includes the state’s capital.

WCHS-TV reported on Wednesday that Charleston city leaders say most of those who enter the Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion program implemented three years ago in Kanawha County are not arrested again.

The Prestera Center offers mental health services in several counties. Its addiction services director, Dana Petroff, says she has seen more than 150 offenders go through the program and that 74 percent had not been rearrested.

Petroff says LEAD is expanding into southern West Virginia and cities north of Charleston. She believes the expansion is largely based on the program’s success in and around the city.

West Virginia Funding Announced for 3 Drug Treatment Sites

Three substance use disorder programs in West Virginia are receiving $1.6 million in funding from the state.

The funding was announced by the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources, Bureau for Behavioral Health and Health Facilities.

The funding includes $700,000 for a 10-bed long-term residential treatment program for women in Brooke County, $594,000 for a six-bed short-term residential treatment program for women in Mercer County and $398,000 for a recovery residence for women in the Institute area of Kanawha County.

The state said the funding supports recommendations from the Governor’s Advisory Council on Substance Abuse.

New Drug Treatment Center to Open in Mount Hope in August

Construction is underway for a new drug treatment center in southern West Virginia.

WVVA-TV reports Open Minds Recovery Services is expected to open by mid-August in Mount Hope. The 100-bed facility will treat males dealing with drug addiction.

Facility manager Calvin Woolwine says that while a $500,000 state grant is covering the costs of specialists and renovations, how many patients they’ll be able to serve dependents on support from surrounding counties.

Woolwine asked the Raleigh County Commission for additional funding on Tuesday. Commission president Dave Tolliver plans to review the proposal.

Woolwine said the center will focus on turning prisoners into patients, possibly saving money and lives along the way.

He says if things go well, they will plan to open a facility for women as well.

Addiction Treatment Service to Add Women’s Facility in Charleston

West Virginia is struggling to keep up with the demand for treatment options for recovering addicts and if you’re a woman needing help, those options are even more scarce. Including co-ed, women and children, there are a total of 269 recovery beds for women, according the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Services (DHHR).

A facility is on track to open Spring 2016, thanks in part to the Justice Reinvestment Act, but more funding is needed.

A non-medical, inpatient treatment facility opened in Bluefield this past year. It creates space for 20 recovering male addicts, with more beds planned. It’s modeled after the Healing Place in Huntington, a place also for men.

The Charleston facility is also funded in part by the West Virginia Justice Reinvestment Act. Thaxton says it’s a $6.6 million construction project that’s on track for completion in Spring 2016.

Rachel Thaxton is a recovering addict. She is now the program coordinator at the Recovery Place in Charleston.

Rachel Thaxton is the Program Coordinator of Recovery Point of Charleston, the first female treatment facility of its kind.

“When they said they were putting this facility in Charleston, I was just thrilled because I had been asking why there wasn’t one in West Virginia,” she said.

The DHHR says Recovery Point is different from other programs already available because this one houses a long-term, social model recovery program.

Thaxton is a recovering addict. She said she tried lots of other treatment options but none of them worked for her. She said it’s the peer-driven, social model that made a difference in her life. She has been clean for more than two years.

Thaxton says the program needs $500,000 of community support along with grants to complete funding for the project. The plan is to eventually house 140 women. But she expects that to be only a drop in the bucket when it comes to the need.

“I think that if they had one of these in every city in West Virginia they would fill up quickly,” she said.

Currently, there are recovery beds for women available in only 10 counties across the state.

These recovery beds for women are located in the following counties:

1. Raleigh

2. Kanawha

3. Cabell

4. Marion

5. Wood

6. Hampshire

7. Mingo

8. Greenbrier

9. Wayne

10. Ohio

Gov. Tomblin Says $250,000 Awarded to Substance Abuse Programs in W.Va.

Governor Earl Ray Tomblin says a quarter of a million dollars in state grants have been awarded to programs across the state to expand access to substance abuse treatment.

The $250,000 grant will fund five projects across West Virginia, all focused on addiction treatment and recovery.

Part of Tomblin’s 2013 Justice Reinvestment Act, the grant funds are part of the Treatment Supervision Program. The pilot phase of the program focuses on funding outpatient and intensive outpatient services, community engagement specialists, and recovery coaches in West Virginia.

United Summit Center was awarded $180,000 for two outpatient/intensive outpatient sites that will be located in Monongalia and Randolph counties.

Jefferson County Day Report Center was awarded $70,000 for two recovery coach positions that will serve residents of Berkeley, Jefferson, Mineral and Morgan counties.

Tomblin has committed 9 million dollars in state funding for the expansion of community-based treatment programs. Nearly 2 million dollars have previously been awarded to expand access in nine locations serving 18 counties in the state.