BUCKHANNON – The 180 Center plans to open its first women’s recovery house – the Ruth House – in April.
The 180 Center, a biblically-centered addiction recovery center, currently operates two men recovery homes in Buckhannon, the Lazarus house and the Damascus house. Doug Spears, director of the 180 Center, said he has wanted to open a women’s house for a while now.
“If you want the honest truth, I knew that that’s what God wanted me to do,” Spears said. “There’s been a few people who tell me I should just open another men’s house, but this house was acquired with the intent of it being a woman’s house.”
The home will be operated by women with recovery experience and he intends to house eight women there.
“The basic foundation is the houses are drug and alcohol free, and they have classes and meetings they go to that are required of them every week,” Spears said. “Our houses make church required every week. They go to NA meetings or AA meetings, and work is required after a certain amount of time – they’re required to get a job. It’s our job to help people transition from a rehab or some kind of facility back into society, where they’re taking care of themselves and they’re productive.”
The Lazarus house opened July 2019 and the Damascus house opened in February 2020 and both are fully occupied. Those living in the homes are expected to pay $400 in rent and most occupants stay for about six to 14 months.
“I was a drug addict for 18 years and I got saved and sober, but I had a place – I actually went to my mother and father and I was there for probably eight months, and they helped me get back up on my feet, but not everybody has that,” Spears said. “I designed these houses to be that type of place, for someone who may not have the kind of help because it’s almost impossible to do it without help.”
Spears said he was inspired to name the house Ruth after the book of Ruth in the Bible.
“In the book of Ruth in the Bible, she is given a choice where she can either go back to her past where she comes from, or she can move forward into her future, and I think this house can be that for these women, to be a place where they can decide they’re either going to go back and do what they used to do, or they can decide to move into their future and do something different,” Spears said.
Applicants interested in living in the 180 Center’s houses can find applications on their website.
