CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A top drug policy official in Washington is getting a look at what recovery centers in Charleston are doing after President Donald Trump declared the opioid epidemic a “national emergency.”
“There’s such a critical need here and our presence here is supposed to show that we are not forgetting about what West Virginia is going through,” said Lawrence Muir, general counsel and acting chief of staff for the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy.
Muir joined U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) and Third District Congressman Evan Jenkins (R-W.Va.) Thursday for a tour of Rae of Hope and Recovery Point — two local organizations that provide recovery services for drug addicts. Capito also hosted a round table discussion with Muir, public health officials, law enforcement and stakeholders involved in treatment and prevention efforts for those struggling with addiction.
West Virginia leads the nation with the amount of opioid overdose deaths per year, Muir said. Funding to provide treatment and recovery is crucial, he said, especially for a state like West Virginia.
“I think every option is on the table. Every option is being thoroughly vetted,” Muir said. “Whatever forms those come into, you will definitely be seeing assistance coming from the federal government.”
Capito said she’ll continue to highlight the issue because drug addiction is hurting so many West Virginia families.
“It takes money, but it also takes policy direction and it takes, I think, an emphasis from the top,” she said. “President Trump has made this one of his signature issues. We’re losing a generation here if we don’t fight this head on, so I’m going to keep talking about it.”
Muir said it’s important to see what communities are doing on the local level. He said he was impressed with the Rae of Hope program. Staff members who hosted Thursday’s tour are also recovering addicts.
“To have the success stories staying inside the home, it’s reinforcing that this could be you some day,” he said. “This message of personal responsibility and accountability is just permeating every detail.”
Haley Walker, a case manager at Rae of Hope, has been clean for eight years. She graduated from the program in 2009.
“What Rae of Hope did for me is it reminded me how to live. All those things that were dormant in me for so long because they were covered up by drugs and alcohol — light was shed on them again. I was reminded that I can do this,” Walker told MetroNews.
She said having Muir tour the facility means drug recovery has turned into “a movement.”
“I want to put a face on recovery,” Walker said. “This recovery movement, especially in the state of West Virginia and obviously it’s getting noticed especially because we have D.C. people coming, means that we’re tired of this. It’s killing a generation of people.”
Rae of Hope is located on the corner of Lee Street and Ruffner Avenue. The house serves women who have recently completed a drug treatment program. Just like Recovery Point on the city’s West Side, the program serves as transitional housing for woman who learn to live sober lives again.
Walker said at Rae of Hope residents have to pay a program fee with the job they’re required to get while participating in the program. Residents are required to live there for at least six months by committing to total abstinence from drugs and alcohol.
“It’s about learning how to live and telling people that there is hope,” Walker said.
The Office of National Drug Control Policy advises the President on drug control issues. West Virginia’s congressional delegation has been working to maintain critical resources in connection with the drug epidemic.