‘demon Copperhead’ Author Lays Foundation For Women In Appalachia To Beat Addiction

On a Saturday evening successful June, group of this agrarian region gathered astatine nan historical Lee Theatre to observe nan founding of Higher Ground Women's Recovery Residence.

Author Barbara Kingsolver opened nan installation successful January pinch royalties from her Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, "Demon Copperhead," whose crippled revolves astir Appalachia's opioid crisis. The location offers a supportive spot for group to enactment while learning to unrecorded without drugs. Kingsolver had asked nan women now surviving location to subordinate her connected stage.

Kingsolver, who grew up successful Appalachia, suggested nan women stock pinch nan assemblage what they were astir proud of having gained from their first weeks astatine Higher Ground. But she learned they were much eager to brag connected 1 another.

Supporters opportunity Higher Ground provides stableness and a reentry constituent aft leaving jail, prison, aliases a curen center. It offers a scope of services and support successful an area devastated by addiction to painkilling pills and different types of opioids. Most fundamentally, it's a existent home, pinch one- and two-person bedrooms, a communal kitchen, and a den. Residents opportunity they person recovered affirmation from a cohort of women who understand really addiction tin demoralize a personification and estrange them from family and community.

Ronda Morgan, a resident, said her family has ever been successful her corner. But while she was serving a jailhouse condemnation for supplier possession, she told herself, "I'm sick of them having to do clip pinch me." She was fresh for recovery. Her daughter, who's a nurse, told her astir Higher Ground, nan first installation of its benignant successful sprawling, agrarian Lee County. Morgan learned she could unrecorded location for up to 2 years to summation nan footing that had eluded her successful three-plus decades of addiction.

What she didn't expect was nan kinship she forged pinch her housemates — among them, Syara Parsell — and pinch Higher Ground's staff.

Parsell, 35, 1 of Higher Ground's first residents, said that successful her clip location she's received thief uncovering employment and enrolling successful organization assemblage courses.

From nan unit and Kingsolver, Parsell said, she has received judgment-free support. "Together," she said, "we fig it out."

Traditional curen accommodation typically run nether highly system aesculapian supervision. Recovery houses, for illustration Higher Ground, connection a much relaxed environment, helping move a resident "toward being an independent, afloat functional, self-reliant quality being," said Marvin Ventrell, CEO of nan National Association of Addiction Treatment Providers.

"Recovery occurs successful nan community," he said. But reentry must beryllium approached delicately. "When addiction occurs pinch a quality being, it besides occurs wrong a family societal structure." If a personification successful early betterment returns to a family that's unprepared, that person's chances of occurrence "are severely diminished."

For Kingsolver, nan opioid situation became a focal constituent for what she hoped would beryllium "the awesome Appalachian novel." The pandemic "has changed truthful overmuch of nan texture of this place," devastating families and communities.

Pharmaceutical companies targeted cardinal Appalachia for income of what they falsely claimed were addiction-resistant medicine opioids. Kingsolver wanted to "cast my nett backmost complete each of nan extractive industries that person travel to this place, taken retired what was good, and near down a mess."

"The measurement I put it is, 'They came to harvest our symptom erstwhile location was thing other left,'" she said.

In investigation for "Demon Copperhead," she immersed herself successful nan stories of group who've navigated addiction and those who attraction and advocator for them.

The caller has been an tremendous success, having sold much than 3 cardinal copies and earning acold much than her erstwhile works. Kingsolver decided to dedicate hundreds of thousands of dollars to reside nan situation that has overwhelmed nan region wherever she was raised — and to which she returned afloat clip successful 2004.

Again, she group astir listening. Drawing connected a wide scope of expertise, she wished that a women's betterment location was nan wisest investment.

Joie Cantrell useful arsenic a nationalist wellness caregiver successful harm simplification for nan Virginia Department of Health, supporting policies and practices to curb nan antagonistic effects of supplier use, and serves arsenic Higher Ground's committee chair. She had agelong recognized nan request for conscionable specified a home.

"That was nan portion that was missing," Cantrell said. Too often, erstwhile personification would travel retired of a curen installation aliases incarceration, "we mislaid them. They fell backmost into nan aforesaid aged patterns." She said nan region sorely needed a safe, unchangeable situation wherever women could recalibrate.

By August, nan location reached its capacity of 7 women. It's correct successful town, "which is truthful important," Kingsolver said, "because successful this portion of nan state we person nary nationalist transportation."

Parsell has agelong suffered from societal anxieties; narcotics were her escape. Here, her housemates embraced her. They've offered nan support she'd ne'er experienced.

"Every 2 seconds, someone's like, 'Syara's here!'" she said. "I'm very grateful for it." If there's an rumor successful nan house, "one of nan 7 of america has nan solution."

Four residents are employed extracurricular nan home, 1 is enrolled successful organization assemblage classes, 1 is completing her GED pinch plans to proceed her education, and everyone volunteers successful nan community. Crafting classes are offered. Family members visit.

"They're surviving life," said Subrenda Huff, who was filling successful while head Liz Brooks took maternity leave.

Morgan said she accomplished much successful a period astatine Higher Ground than she had successful years. That includes applying for recognition documents, taking budgeting classes, and seeking imperishable housing. It includes sharing upkeep duties successful nan house.

Such was Kingsolver's vision. But, she said, "here's what I didn't expect: The organization embraced this pinch loving arms. I thought possibly group would say, 'I don't want this successful my backyard.'"

Most of nan furnishings was donated. Kingsolver's quarter-million aliases truthful societal media followers person been instrumental successful that. "But it's not conscionable book clubs successful Switzerland aliases successful California; it's group successful Pennington Gap," she said. Church groups person donated "quilts, bedside lamps, things to bent connected nan walls conscionable to make it homey."

Before nan installation opened, section folks volunteered to propulsion weeds, return down an aged fence, and put up a caller one. Kingsolver said nan good of support "has been conscionable endless. It's been deep, and loving, and a wonderment to see."

Higher Ground, pinch only 1 paid unit member, has estimated yearly operating costs of $120,000, Cantrell said. Residents are charged $50 a week. Ventrell said that fees astatine different betterment houses alteration wide but that $2,500 a period is an approximate average.

"We want them to attraction connected redeeming money and paying immoderate restitution aliases fines they whitethorn person from past charges," Cantrell said. "Some whitethorn beryllium focused connected repaying kid support they whitethorn owe."

Higher Ground receives nary national aliases authorities funding. Donations proceed to move in. And Kingsolver precocious bought nan building adjacent doorway pinch plans to unfastened a thrift shop, which would beryllium a root of further income for nan location and connection unit activity acquisition for its residents.

Supporters aspire to unfastened much Higher Ground homes elsewhere successful nan region.

What these women are gaining, Kingsolver said, "is not conscionable sobriety, but belief successful themselves."