West Virginia Executive Winter 2020 | Page 47

“Recovery residences came about with the understanding that sometimes people in early recovery need to be with other people in recovery. They need that strong accountability and support from their peers. Even though it’s not clinical, it’s about being as recovery-oriented and therapeutic as possible.” “These structured living settings are generally led and managed by people in recovery,” says Tack, who serves as the secretary of the WVARR. “There are efforts underway by the WVARR to begin looking at the credentialing of recovery residences because anybody can open one. With the opioid crisis, this has become a real problem. Some of it is taking advantage and exploiting people. Some of it is just well-meaning people who don’t know what they’re doing. And then there are people who do know what they’re doing and have great facilities.” The WVARR will serve as the first certifying agency for recovery residences in West Virginia to ensure national recovery residence standards are applied consistently across the state. It will also serve all recovery residences that are seeking certification throughout West Virginia with advocacy, training, start-up assistance, compliance issues, accreditation offerings and data collection. The WVARR is developing a system aligned with standards and objectives set by the National Association of Recovery Residences to provide accreditation for West Virginia recovery residences. “Recovery residences came about with the understanding that sometimes people in early recovery need to be with other people in recovery,” says Tack. “They need a highly structured environment. They need that strong accountability and support from their peers. Sometimes the places people live when they get into recovery are detrimental to recovery, so they need some- where else to go. We need to do something about this because it’s not okay that recovering people are being exploited in this way when they and their family members are desperate. Even though it’s not clinical, it’s about being as recovery-oriented and therapeutic as possible.” ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN THAT BRINGS YOUR VISION TO LIFE THRASHER’S GOT IT. When expectations are high to solve complex infrastructure and development needs, Thrasher delivers the resources required to help communities thrive. Bringing initiative and resolve to everything we do allows us to forge deep relationships and lasting partnerships. ► www.thethrashergroup.com | 600 White Oaks Blvd. | Bridgeport, WV 26330 | 1-800-273-6541 | WWW.WVEXECUTIVE.COM WINTER 2020 45