Urban survival tools how to#

They're on the streets, nowhere to go if they're not from around here. KUHL: If they come and they decide, after one or two days, they want to leave, they kick them out. Kuhl worries these homes are bringing vulnerable people to Parkersburg who may struggle to get back on their feet. There's at least 12 recovery homes serving 180 clients. LEFFLER: Kuhl says her town has been inundated. SHARON KUHL: In the beginning, we needed a rehab center. She has lived in Parkersburg all her life and sits on the local city council. Some take prescribed drugs to beat their cravings for opioids. LEFFLER: Braswell and the other clients start a 12-step program and are expected to get a job in town.

Urban survival tools how to#

They all just kind of connect with each other and figure out how to stay sober. PATRICE POOLER: And the cool thing is to see that completely turn around. There, he and more than 30 other men and women are on a path to recovery. LEFFLER: Braswell has been living in a sober living residence called the Mid-Ohio Valley Fellowship Home since May. Moving Braswell 80 miles away from everything he knew in Charleston worked out for the best.Д«RASWELL: If I was to go back to the streets of Charleston, where those problems and those people that I know exist, then it would just never would have worked. He overdosed in Charleston earlier this year. LEFFLER: Braswell had been through 10 years of using drugs and getting locked up for it. My PO decided that Parkersburg would be a better spot for me, and I'm grateful for it. JIMMY BRASWELL: But that wasn't my decision. JUNE LEFFLER, BYLINE: Forty-five-year-old Jimmy Braswell (ph) came to the town of Parkersburg, W.Va., to enter a recovery program. West Virginia Public Broadcasting's June Leffler has more from a town that's seen an influx in addiction services and a resulting backlash. One thing that can save lives are sober living homes that give people spaces and tools to start a life of recovery, but these homes aren't always welcomed by the community at large. 2020 marked the most drug overdose deaths on record.