Council members say they want more information on local recovery programs, Q&A session set for March 19
BECKLEY, WV (WVNS) — When the opioid epidemic swept through Appalachia, it left overcrowded jails and a decimated work force.
As pharmaceutical companies pay millions in settlements, small cities like Beckley struggle to recover, and non-profits like Seed Sowers have sprung up to help.
The group offers housing and other services to those in recovery.
In May 2023, Phillips, the executive director of Seed Sowers in Beckley, said the program helps those who want to recover from addiction by providing housing, transportation and other resources.
“A lot of people end up kind of feeling lost in the system, if you will, so what we’re doing here is reaching out to those folks,” he said.
Phillips brings those in recovery to live in Beckley and helps them access resources to rebuild their lives.
One of his partners is Fruits of Labor, which operates a nationally recognized, state-funded work program at its business.
Those in recovery work at Fruits of Labor.
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The café attracts a crowd at lunch, and the servers have said they feel supported by the Beckley community, which makes their recovery process less of a struggle and encourages them.
Despite community support for those in recovery programs, some in Beckley are concerned about what it could mean to attract a large number of people who are in recovery to the city.
At-Large Beckley Common Councilman Cody Reedy said on Thursday, March 14, 2024, that, some of those he represents are worried about what being an Inclusive Recovery City could mean.
Folks are shell-shocked by the epidemic and the city is trying to attract businesses.
He said he has questions about how recovery networks, like those which include Seed Sowers, operate in city limits.
Seed Sowers is mentioned on the website of The Fletcher Group, a non-profit former Kentucky governor Ernie Fletcher founded to help develop recovery centers.
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Both The Fletcher Group and Seed Sowers receives funding from Appalachian Regional Commission, which also funds recovery programs in Beckley and is co-led by former West Virginia First Lady Gayle Manchin, wife of Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.).
“The Fletcher Group has come up with almost tens of millions of dollars in grant monies, and I don’t know where that money is going,” said Reedy. “So I don’t feel comfortable with them coming in and using our taxpayer dollars, not knowing exactly where the money’s going.”
Phillips said on Thursday that The Fletcher Group provided services when he was organizing Seed Sowers, but the two groups don’t mix finances.
Ward 3 Beckley Common Councilman Robert Dunlap said he’s asked Phillips to give more information on March 19, 2024, during a Q&A session with the public at WVU-Tech.
Originally, the session had been planned as an announcement that Beckley would be an Inclusive Recovery City.
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Although Phillips said the IRC initiative does not cost money but is a public announcement that the City of Beckley welcomes and supports those in recovery programs, four members of Beckley Common Council, including Reedy, opposed the initiative without learning more, leading Mayor Rob Rappold to cancel the announcement on Wednesday.
Councilman Dunlap, who is running for mayor, said more information is necessary.
“I just think if you’re asking the city to buy into something like a recovery city initiative, we need more information, and you need to have the community educated, so they have input, especially if they’re against us,” said Dunlap.
Phillips said he will provide answers to Council and the public during the session. He said he wants to remove the stigma from those in recovery, and that is the goal of being an Inclusive Recovery City.
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