MARTINSBURG – The official groundbreaking of the Mountaineer Recovery Village took place on Friday, offering great hopes for the future of recovery.
Mountaineer Recovery Village will be established as a covenant-based community where 200-plus families will live in a sober neighborhood. The village will offer diverse housing units that will allow those in early recovery to live with family members in a neighborhood setting.
Amenities will include park features, playgrounds, walking trails and a fellowship hall, which will facilitate daily 12-step meetings.
Residences will be self-paid through leasing agreements, and there is no proposed time limit for living on site.
“Living in this community would provide stability and sustained connection with others in recovery, working together to increase individuals’ chances at adopting recovery as a way of life,” a press release explained.
Dr. Jonathan Hartiens, CEO of Mountaineer Behavioral Health, said that this is a first-in-the-nation place, where there is a recovery center neighborhood.
“You may be asking, 'Why do people in recovery need a place set a part to live?' And I would answer your question with a question - 'Why do you live where you live?''' Dr. Hartiens said, telling the story of his family moving into the area years ago, looking for a place to live that reflected their values and interests.
“Since Mountaineer Recovery Center opened, over 450 graduates each year leave the program clean and sober. But regretfully, many who left Mountaineer with the will and the skill to stay sober, later relapsed because they returned to the same environment from which they came. The environment they returned to did not share or embrace the values that they were trying to incorporate into a new life in sobriety,” he added.
Hartiens then thanked elected officials on the state and local level and others who stepped up to form the Semper Liberi incorporated board.
Semper Liberi is a nonprofit that works with MBH to help those discharging from residential substance abuse treatment.
“Based upon the state motto, its mission was simple and clear — to empower people in recovery to live with freedom and purpose,” he said.
Workforce assistance, transportation and housing were among the concerns that drove the idea. The board of Semper Liberi submitted a grant in 2019 to the U.S. Department of Agriculture that was accepted. It also applied to the WISH Foundation, Women Investing in Shepherd University, which responded with an award of $20,000, which went to purchasing the Ashley House.
Dr. Hartiens explained that the waiting list for the Ashley House, the first certified sober living house in the Eastern Panhandle, became long, so in conjunction with Mountaineer Recovery Center, Semper Liberi began looking for more opportunities to great an entire village rather than a house.
Seventy-two acres were purchased behind the current Mountaineer Behavioral Health center in Kearneysville, with grant funds from the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources. Funding for this project was also made available through a Congressionally Directed Spending request made by U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., who was in attendance at the event on Friday afternoon.
Dr. Hartiens explained that a grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission was received by Semper Liberi recently.
Gail Manchin also sent a note sharing her support of the project thanking Semper Liberi.
Gov. Jim Justice’s Jobs and Hope program through DHHR will also aid in the effort of the overall picture of the sober living community and workforce efforts. The USDA also continued support with funding after the initial funding.
“As we celebrate the groundbreaking of the village, we are celebrating the collaboration of federal, state, local agencies, community partners — together,” Dr. Hartiens said. “Through the village, West Virginia will become known as the leader in substance abuse solutions.”
Regional representative Dan Neff spoke of behalf of Congressman Alex Mooney, and regional representative Keith McIntosh was in attendance for U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va. — both expressing support of the elected officials and the two participating in the groundbreaking.
Daryl Cowles, from Gov. Justice’s office, also shared remarks from the governor in support of the project and participated in the groundbreaking.
Special remarks from Neil McLaughlin, Semper Liberi’s board chair, were shared at the event.
He thanked several community partners and supporters that truly made the groundbreaking a reality.
“Today's ceremony is the fruit of some of that partnership where we are not just celebrating ceremonially, but we are reaffirming that the community is together with us in this,” McLaughlin said.
“Sobriety often gets its start at MBH, then Semper Li steps in to facilitate re-entry into the community by focusing on vocational rehabilitation, stable and suitable housing, transportation to and from work, medical appointments or other appointments critical to managing early recovery — such as court appearances or trips to the DMV or Social Security office,” the release explained of the organization.
Additionally, Semper Li is placing a great emphasis on housing for those that are “justice impacted” – or specifically, those who have been recently released from incarceration at both local jails and WV state prisons. The first residence building constructed at the Village will address housing needs for this specific population.
State Delegate Jason Barrett spoke about how important he feels the project is for the state and the community. He also spoke about how far Mountaineer Behavioral Health has come since its inception in 2016 and how it, along with Semper Liberi, is addressing a problem that he has seen throughout the community of the state with the sober living community.
Capito spoke about what the project means to her.
“We all know that to be successful, part of it is to have that sense of community,” she said. “I am amazed at what I have seen, of what has occurred here. Transitional housing is absolutely such an essential part of what we see here.
“It is an honor for me to see the growth, the positivity,” she added. “Bringing people back together, giving people hope — we need more hope in the life of the future. I am in it to win it like you all are, and I am happy to be a very small part of that.”
A special testimony was shared by MBH alumna Brittney Bloom. She talked about her journey and how glad she is for the village groundbreaking and for the future of the hope of recovery.
“It has proven to be true in my life,” Bloom said about the MBH motto “Where hope becomes reality.”
MBH Chaplain Archie Green, also a teacher locally, explained the impact the opioid epidemic has on families and children and how this project will offer hope not only for individual but for families, as well.
“More funds are needed, and more partnership is required to make the community a reality. I look forward to the day where we will all return here, celebrating the villages completion and join those living there and celebrate their newfound lives in sobriety and the supporting and caring village,” Dr. Hartiens said.