Support For Women With Addictions

Recovery Point WV in Huntington.

It's not often that you find a place that addresses the any form of treatment for women addicted to drugs or alcohol. However, eight years after overcoming her own struggles with addiction, Margaret Van Zandt co-founded HER PLACE in Huntington, West Virginia. This organization has a big mission - providing hope, education, and supportive recovery to women who have developed addictions.

HER Place strives to reach out with its heart to help, according to Ms. Van Zandt, the "most vulnerable, stigmatized, and at-risk families in our community: those headed by single women, who suffer from chronic substance abuse issues."



The organization promotes continued recovery through peer support and life skills education. Margaret stated. "An integral part of our life skills education program is Whole Health Action Management (WHAM), a holistic program for self-management and improvement of physical, mental, and spiritual health."

HER Place now operates under the supportive arm of RECOVERY POINT WV, which has a treatment site in Huntington. They rent temporary office and classroom space at Barrett Community Center. There are four part-time recovery coaches and numerous volunteers from the recovery community. They provide peer "peer recovery support services, addictions recovery education classes, health and wellness programs, life skills workshops, and trauma-informed women's support groups." There is also a drop-in center available on weekdays.

Future plans include adding a Family Recovery Program on Saturdays. In addition, once HER Place gets its own space, there are plans to add "rehabilitative childcare services, after-school programs, and more family-centered recovery activities."

Those who run HER Place are also aware of the fact that sometimes addicts who want treatment frequently end up on long waiting lists. Women in need of treatment can spend up to six months waiting for a spot in a 28-day program and can spend as much as two years waiting for an opening in a long-term two year program, which includes her children. So, they would like to add Peer Recovery Support Services.

There are some early intervention services planned, too, the type of services that identify at-risk individuals and provides services proactively. These include outreach, information, and referral, especially for the women who use the drop-in center.

Cassandra Huffman, Recovery Point Family Program Coordinator at HER Place.

Addiction is an all-encompassing problem for both individuals and society. Major consequences exist for those who use drugs and alcohol. It's refreshing to see a program designed by those who have experienced the issues, providing services that are so needed.

The price of addiction is high, as these shoes of loved ones who died from drug overdoses can attest.

Thanks for information from this article on Pollination Project: https://thepollinationproject.org/grants-awarded/margaret-vanzandt-her-place/; this article from Recovery Point WV: https://www.recoverypointwv.org/locations/her-place/; and the above links.

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