CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Five years after opening a long term substance abuse treatment program in Huntington for men, operators of Recovery Point on Tuesday dedicated a similar facility in Charleston for women.
“We’re hoping to start renovations in the next month or two months and we are optimistic we’ll at least be partially operational by summer,” said Rachel Thaxton, program coordinator for Recovery Point on Tuesday’s 580 Live on 580 WCHS.
The facility is in the former Mountaineer Gas building on Stockton Street and will be renovated into a facility providing 94 beds for women in treatment. Additionally, the property will also eventually include 24 double-occupancy apartment units to house 48 more women. Thaxton, herself a survivor who beat drug and alcohol addiction, said the Recovery Point model works for a couple of reasons.
“Most women and men who are the grips of drug and alcohol addition for a long time, so it takes a long time to recover,” she said. “Another thing that is vital for this program is that it’s a peer recovery program. It’s one person helping another person.”
Thaxton is excited about the program which is funded in part by a grant from the Tomblin administration.
“A lot of our clients will come straight from day report and it will be a diversionary sentence for most women,” she said. “We’re also looking at other ways to fund beds so all women have a chance to come to the facility. We want to ultimately get women off the streets who are looking for a new way of life.”
Thaxton had to go out of state to get her help. She said the new Charleston facility will be a huge benefit for a problem which is overwhelming the state of West Virginia.
“This is a great step for our state. I want to see women come into this facility and change their lives,” she said. “We’re hoping this will be part of the puzzle here in West Virginia and we can continue to expand throughout the state.”