Anyone who knows someone who has a drug and/or alcohol problem has heard some well-meaning person say, “I don’t understand why they don’t just stop.”
Understanding a person who is addicted doesn’t quit using without a recovery plan, a group formed the nonprofit organization S.T.O.P. (Strong Through Our Plan) in 1999. The all-volunteer group hired its first employee in 2006, said Amy Turner, who will serve as executive director of Crossroads Recovery Home for Women, which will house up to 11 women at a time.
The facility, located in the old James Harless office building, was donated by Gilbert Development Company and renovated through a $75,000 grant awarded by the West Virginia Office of Attorney General from Purdue Pharma funds, Turner said. Named in numerous lawsuits, including one initiated by the county government in Pike County Kentucky, Purdue Pharma, makers of the pain killer OxyContin, has been court-ordered to pay several hefty sums of money for compensation to communities affected by widespread OxyContin abuse. The court found the company did not warn physicians of the drug’s highly addictive nature.
Crossroads Recovery Home for Women will employ nine individuals — a director, three counselors, and five employees who will work on substance abuse prevention. The first year’s operating costs were taken care of through a grant from Logan Healthcare Foundation, Turner said, asserting additional staffing would be addressed by students from Lindsey Wilson College’s social work program. Those working on a bachelor’s degree in a related health field will be assisting with the rehabilitation center’s needs, Turner said.
Crossroads is not a detoxification unit or a treatment center, but will take women from these centers if they are willing to make a 90-day commitment to stay at the recovery center at which they can stay up to a year.
“It’s difficult for women to come straight out of detox into the same environment without longer term care,” Turner said. “Many times people seek treatment after being addicted for years. S.T.O.P. realizes it’s difficult for people to get well in 30 days (the average time treatment centers keep patients).”
The Crossroads program is based on the successful Recovery Dynamics, which provides a foundation for recovery, Turner said, adding, “We intend to take women to 12-step meetings including faith-based meetings, as well as have them in the home. We want a wide spectrum of meetings.”
S.T.O.P. will hold a ribbon cutting ceremony for the facility May 5, and will begin accepting applications for the 11 spots available.
Crossroad is not eligible for state funding until July 2010, Turner said, thus the organization is encouraging community support for the center until the facility can support itself. Area businesses which want to donate the money needed to furnish and decorate a room will get a plaque with the business name placed above the door to that specific room. Also, Crossroads is selling cement stones as part of the landscape. The stones will create the walkway to the facility and will have the contributing businesses’ names etched into the stone.
“Everyone in our communities knows someone with a drug or alcohol problem,” Turner said, adding, “And we always ask, ‘What can I do?’ Crossroads Recovery Home is a concrete way to contribute to the solution.”
Crossroads will service, primarily, the southern coalfields region, which is where one-quarter of the people on waiting lists for other West Virginia recovery centers are from, Turner said.
There are no inhouse recovery centers currently in Mingo County. There is a methadone clinic in Williamson, which uses the substitute drug methadone to maintain the addict, and Logan, Mingo Mental Health has an outpatient counseling service in Chattaroy.
About S.T.O.P.
Crossroads is the first recovery-oriented program for S.T.O.P., as the organization has been focused on the prevention aspect of the nonprofit. S.T.O.P. currently has two prevention employees, paid through a prevention grant, Turner said, who works with Sister Janet Peterworth and A.B.L.E. Families as a maternal infant health outreach worker. Peterworth is the president of S.T.O.P.’s board of directors. A.B.L.E. Families and STOP work with pregnant women or mothers who have children up to 3 years old to prevent them from turning to drugs.
S.T.O.P. is also working with Lindsey Wilson students on high school prevention projects such as “Prom Promise,” where the students sign a promise to not drive while intoxicated or ride with anyone who is, and they receive a T-shirt and get to participate in a lock-in at the schools. There will be free food and drinks and activities for the kids to keep them entertained, Turner said. The high schoolS targeted for “Prom Promise” are Williamson, Tug Valley, Burch and Matewan.
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