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Operator of Ally's Hope describes 10-bed women's sober-living house and rules for recovery
Summary
At an Elkins community forum, Shelby — who runs Ally's Hope — described a 10-bed, faith-based sober-living house for women 18–65 that requires 30 days' confirmed sobriety, mandates counseling and 12-step participation, accepts injectable MAT (Vivitrol/Brixadi) but not daily pills or strips, and is seeking donations and grant support.
Shelby, the founder and operator of Ally's Hope, described the new sober-living home for women during a community forum in Elkins, saying the house can accommodate 10 residents ages 18 to 65 and requires entrants to be at least 30 days sober. "Ally's Hope is truly a vision from experience of my own family," she said, adding that residents must participate in a 12-step program, attend intensive outpatient therapy while living there and find work as part of reentry.
The house is run as a faith-based nonprofit with a full-time house manager, Shelby said, and it charges a resident fee at intake and monthly thereafter while welcoming donations to cover first-month fees and supplies. Shelby said she vets applicants and will turn people down if she believes they will harm the recovery environment: "I won't just take anybody off of the street," she said.
Shelby answered a live-stream question about medication-assisted treatment, saying Ally's Hope allows injector-based MAT but not daily pills or strips. "If you get a supplicate injection, Vivitrol injection, or Brixotti injection, I will accept those," she said, adding that injections are administered by treatment providers and not handled by house staff.
Josh Barker, director of substance abuse prevention and outreach for the West Virginia Attorney General's Office, and others at the forum underscored housing needs for people leaving inpatient treatment. "When people get out of treatment, most of them don't have a home to go to," Barker said, a gap speakers tied to statewide closures of women's facilities. Dr. Steven Lloyd, a physician and drug-policy adviser who spoke at the meeting, said the state has lost several women's facilities and stressed housing as a critical component of treatment and recovery.
Speakers at the forum described how Ally's Hope was launched with local support and earlier opioid-settlement funding routed through county commissions; Shelby said she used county opioid-settlement money to buy and ready the house but that those one-time funds are now spent. Organizers encouraged applicants to pursue West Virginia 1st Foundation grants and other funding cycles, and to contact task-force partners for help with applications.
The forum highlighted that certified recovery housing is often required to access opioid funds and other grants; speakers cited WAVR certification as a recognized standard for housing quality. Shelby and task-force members asked residents and local groups to refer potential residents and to donate as needed while the house builds capacity.
Ally's Hope is operating now with four residents and hopes to fill all 10 beds; Shelby said community churches and volunteers support programming. For contact and referral information, speakers directed interested people to local task-force partners and Shelby's posted contact information.
