By Stephen Smoot
“Addiction doesn’t define a person, and it doesn’t get to write the ending of their story.”
These powerful words reflect one of the key purposes of the soon-to-be-established House of Grayse, to stand “shoulder to shoulder” with recovering addicts “as they fight for sobriety and a better life” with “the resources, encouragement, and faith they need.”
West Virginia as a state has advanced considerably down the collective long road to recovery. Once considered the place hardest hit by addiction and overdose death, the Mountain State has rolled back a number of its most negative statistics. Last October, for example, the West Virginia Department of Human Services announced that the overdose death rate in the months of January through October 2024 had dropped 40 percent from the same period in 2023.
This surpasses the national overdose death rate decline of about 27 percent in 2024.
A drop in deaths represents a battle won, not yet victory in the war. Each life saved will need to continue to ward off his or her addiction with a goal not to just remain alive, but to thrive. Resisting destructive urges while embracing a productive life almost always .
Janae Billmeyer serves as organizational secretary and also as a member of the Board. She shared that “the House of Grayse was created based on a dream.” Anthony Ross, who started the mission and founded the organization, “was left at rock bottom with nothing” by addiction.
She explains that “the grace he was shown and continues to receive from his support group . . . keeps him going every day.” And Ross shares the wisdom of his own experience, saying “recovery is possible. Don’t ever let anyone tell you that you can’t do it.”
With successful interventions in preventing opioid deaths, the harder work comes in making sure that the addict can function in their life roles with family, with employment, and with appropriate social interaction and support. As Billmeyer states “while that road is tough, we believe that no one is too far gone for God’s love and redemption.”
The National Library of Medicine in 2019 published a study by Brian and Melissa Grim entitled “Belief, Behavior, and Belonging.” It shared that “73 percent of addiction treatment programs” in the US “include a spirituality-based component.” It referred to Alcoholics Anonymous and similar programs that “emphasize reliance on God or a Higher Power to stay sober.”
And that belief works. Almost 85 percent of scientific studies show the vitality of faith “in addiction prevention or recovery.” Only two percent experienced negative results from a faith-based approach.
The Grims go on to assert that the decline of personal faith, church attendance, and membership in the United States “constitutes a national health concern” due to the importance of faith to mental and physical health.
In May, the House of Grayse held their initial Board of Directors meeting and all “have been working diligently ever since.” They recently cleared the hurdle of receiving tax exempt non profit status, so they can start to receive tax deductible donations. Board members have started planning fundraisers to help gather resources to reach out into the community to assist addicts.
When established, the program will offer “up to 21 days of safe housing, encouragement, a warm bed, and faith-centered guidance. The program focuses on “a hand up, not a hand-out.” It also provides “mentorship, prayer, and encouragement from people who care,” guidance to recovery and opportunities in housing and work, and life-skills coaching with focus on changing one’s mindset.
Faith and hope underscore every effort made.
Recovery means not only embracing a new life, but also a new mindset. As Billmeyer explains, it means adopting different strategies to confront pain and resolve problems rather than escaping into drugs, other substances to abuse, or self-destructive behaviors that feel good in the moment, but lead to more problems.”
“He calls us to lean on Him and discover the person He created us to be,” implores Billmeyer.
