The Healing Place of Huntington
Introduction
Text-to-speech Audio
The Healing Place of Huntington was a nonprofit drug and alcohol rehabilitation facility in Huntington, WV. It was based on the peer-driven model of The Healing Place in Louisville, Kentucky. A group of concerned community members banded together in 2009 to attempt to deal with the drug and crime epidemic, and their solution was to create what was The Healing Place of Huntington. They purchased an abandoned elementary school and solicited funds for remodeling the building from private donors and grants. The program opened in 2011 and made an impact on many men who were suffering from the disease of addiction. In 2015, The Healing Place of Huntington separated itself from The Healing Place in Louisville and the program was changed to Recovery Point of Huntington.
Images
The Healing Place of Huntington
The Healing Place of Huntington sign
Backstory and Context
Text-to-speech Audio
After a brutal drug related murder in downtown Huntington on May 22, 2005, local community members knew that something had to be done to combat the crime epidemic. A group of concerned citizens got together to form a plan of opening up a drug and alcohol rehabilitation facility to get addicts off the streets and out of jails. After searching the nation for a reputable and effective model, they found The Healing Place in Louisville, Kentucky. Funds were raised and The Healing Place of Huntington was opened.
The Healing Place of Huntington opened its doors in January 2011, welcoming drug addicts and alcoholics off the streets and out of the prison system. Rather than trying to punish the disease, The Healing Place of Huntington offered a solution to the disease of addiction. Clients were shown unconditional love and tolerance on the condition that when they got better they would be there to help the new person coming in off the streets.
The success of this program was astounding, and it quickly became apparent that the facility needed to expand to meet the demand of sick individuals as the opioid epidemic reached new heights. The parent program (The Healing Place in Louisville) did not agree with the Huntington facility expanding and breaking their program guidelines with the amount of men that could be served at one time. The Healing Place of Huntington was forced to change its name and program, and so it became Recovery Point of Huntington, and then Recovery Point of West Virginia. It is now a statewide agency that has spawned many other organizations and facilities across the state of West Virginia. The original building that was The Healing Place of Huntington has since been expanded and remodeled.
The Healing Place of Huntington opened its doors in January 2011, welcoming drug addicts and alcoholics off the streets and out of the prison system. Rather than trying to punish the disease, The Healing Place of Huntington offered a solution to the disease of addiction. Clients were shown unconditional love and tolerance on the condition that when they got better they would be there to help the new person coming in off the streets.
The success of this program was astounding, and it quickly became apparent that the facility needed to expand to meet the demand of sick individuals as the opioid epidemic reached new heights. The parent program (The Healing Place in Louisville) did not agree with the Huntington facility expanding and breaking their program guidelines with the amount of men that could be served at one time. The Healing Place of Huntington was forced to change its name and program, and so it became Recovery Point of Huntington, and then Recovery Point of West Virginia. It is now a statewide agency that has spawned many other organizations and facilities across the state of West Virginia. The original building that was The Healing Place of Huntington has since been expanded and remodeled.
Sources
Hardiman, Jean Tarbett. 2015. Healing Place expands, gets new name. April 9. Accessed May 21, 2016. http://www.herald-dispatch.com/news/healing-place-expands-gets-new-name/article_bc09dabd-0ce9-554d-97e5-233a1f600d92.html.
Huntington, Recovery Point of. 2013. The Healing Place of Huntington: "Men of Hope". May 20. Accessed May 21, 2016. https://vimeo.com/70711029.
Johnson, Curtis. 2009. High-profile homicides revealed scope of Huntington drug trade. January 15. Accessed May 21, 2016. http://www.herald-dispatch.com/news/100_years_with_h_d/top-story-high-profile-homicides-revealed-scope-of-huntington-drug/article_bd1e3ea7-7354-5b19-bf48-a6085f75c903.html.
n.d. The Healing Place of Huntington. Accessed May 21, 2016. http://www.unitedwevolunteer.org/volunteer/agency/display/the-healing-place-of-huntington/?agency_id=3614.