WILLIAMSBURG — Faith Recovery, a faith-based drug recovery program in Williamsburg, has recently expanded, opening a new women’s residential drug rehabilitation program.
Founded in 1979, the organization was created to help bring hope to those struggling in all facets of life. Faith Recovery started in a small building in Newport News and has now expanded to the Williamsburg area. The facility is open to residents in the entire Hampton Roads region, Southside and Peninsula.
A women’s home is not a new initiative for Faith Recovery.
“We had a women’s home up until COVID. COVID was really tragic for us. We had a really small staff, and our women’s home director ended up getting COVID, and she was in the hospital for about a month on and off and ultimately she had passed away. The week after she had passed, we had all come back for a staff meeting, I remember seeing her chair empty during that meeting and just losing it. That loss was so prominent and devastating. The women in the program at the time were all far enough along in their treatment plans that they could decide if they wanted to work or transfer to a different program, and they all decided to work,” shared Mandi Sabo, Development Director for Faith Recovery.
The original women’s home program shuttered in 2021, with the idea that eventually the program would return.
After touring a few local homes on a whim, one stood out amongst the rest.
“The sellers of our house that we have now had told us that they had been praying that the house would bless somebody as much as it blessed them. They wanted it to go to helping somebody else. This cause is near and dear to their heart and they were so excited,” Sabo said.
The new home officially opened on Sept. 1. It is open to women 18 and older for a 30-day to six-month stay, and women can decide the length of time they want to stay within the program. There are daily therapy sessions, employment opportunities within the ministry, and group bonding activities.
“They are in this program and making the decisions for their recovery, and we’re there to help alongside that. We’re partnering with them in their journey, and it’s designed to shift in accordance with where they are at in their recovery journey,” Sabo explained.
Faith Recovery in Williamsburg is the only clinical Christian program in Virginia.
With the home now open, Faith Recovery is asking for the community’s help to furnish and decorate the space. The team at the mission has set up an Amazon Wishlist with necessary items. Purchases through the wishlist will be shipped to the home for the residents to use.
For more information on the programs, visit faithrecoveryhope.org.