MOUNT HOPE, W.Va. — A long, curvy driveway lined with trees greeted U.S. Rep. Evan Jenkins, R-W.Va., to Brian’s Safehouse Monday morning.
Jenkins visited the rehabilitation center to discuss drug recovery efforts as well as potential legislation and funding. For him, its a matter that he says is close to his heart. His wife’s nephew died of a heroin overdose in Huntington.
“This is personal to me. This ain’t a photo op, this is a passion. But you’ve got a room full of souls out here that are worth fighting for, and they’ve found a safe place.”
Brian’s Safehouse was created on a 14-acre parcel of land near Beckley. Co-founder Leon Brush was inspired to create a “safe haven” for people to recover from addiction after his own son, Brian, died from an overdose in 2006. Frustrated by the lack of local recovery centers at the time, Brush decided to take initiative.
“A local church gave us the pastor’s house and said ‘we’ve quit using this house, and we’ll let you rent it for five years for zero dollars’ and I said well that will work,” said Brush. “So they gave us the house but they said ‘we have one stipulation and that is you remodel the house and make it look respectable’, so we did that.”
After funding approval from his church, Brush and his team opened the facility to residents in April of 2008. Since then, the campus has grown to include a women’s center and a 12-month, inpatient facility. To keep up with increasing demand, the facility has submitted plans to construct additional buildings on the site. Brush says in order to fulfill their goals, extra funding is going to be needed from new sources.
“We have relied strictly on churches, and friends and family to get us to where we are. But you can’t go back to the same church and the same people with the same limited income and say ‘we’re going to expand to 30 and 60 people and we want you to keep us going’. It just won’t work.”
Jenkins met with several residents who all expressed gratitude for the Safehouse and its resources. Many said one of the biggest issues they face is negative stigma in their communities even after recovery. Brush agreed to this concern and echoed the residents’ comments. He said Safehouse’s 10 most recent graduates have contributed an estimated $750,000 to the local economy as property owners, taxpayers and employees.
“They’re doing what people are supposed to do. They’re heads of household, their kids are not on food stamps, they’re not tax collecting people they’re tax paying people…they’re giving back. That’s the model that we offer. We need help.”
The plans include a nearly $3 million building to move their women’s center, Sparrow’s Nest, on campus with their other resources. The center is currently located about a half mile away from the main campus. Other buildings would provide more space for classrooms and dormitories.
Jenkins toured the existing facilities, a day center currently under construction and land that Safehouse administration hopes will one day hold additional buildings.
“Part of this is myself being educated about the different approaches…what works, what doesn’t,” said Jenkins. We’re trying to use those federal and state resources to invest in programs that work. We’ve got a crisis.”
For more information about Brian’s Safehouse, visit www.brianssafehouse.org.