ELKINS — The Randolph County Commission approved the allocation of $250,000 in Opioid Settlement money this week for a new non-profit facility.

Randolph County Commission President David Kesling said the allocation was recommended by the county Opioid Board Committee meeting, adding that the facility, which will be the first of its kind in Elkins, will provide recovery services for women.

Kesling noted that $217,000 of the funding will go toward the purchase of the house, while the rest will be used to revamp the facility, and for start-up costs.

“We had a couple of decisions that the Opioid Board approved and they brought them to us for ratification,” Kesling said. “The first one is for Shelby Burgess-Wilson, who we are working with. She has created a non-profit called Ally’s Hope Incorporated, which is a sober living home for women.

“With this, she was needing funds to purchase a house, put some money down on the house, and to help with some expenses for the house, like with electrical upgrades, carpet cleaning, and things like that.”

“This is some really good use of the Opioid Settlement money that we received,” Kesling said. “This is something that is much needed in our community.”

Burgess-Wilson, who is a registered nurse and an “opioid coordinator” at St. Joseph Hospital, spoke at Thursday’s County Commission meeting.

“We can put up to 10 ladies in the house that we are purchasing for this project,” Burgess-Wilson said. “It will be a safe and sober place for them to live while they are going through their recovery phase. It will be done through the state certification.

“I believe a house in Buckhannon is the only other state certified sober living facility in our area for women, so this will be a great addition.”

Kesling said a facility like Ally’s Hope is needed in the area to combat substance abuse issues.

“We are really excited about this project, which is the biggest thing we have done with the money we received from the state and the settlement they received from the other drug companies,” Kesling said. “This is the first facility like this in Elkins and it’s aimed toward women. It’s a need in our community and we are excited to work with Shelby on this project.”

Burgess-Wilson said the purchase of the home is expected to be official by July 24.

“It’s a wonderful house that can accommodate 10 women comfortably,” she said. “With the state certification, there were guidelines specific to the house. So the bedrooms had to be a certain size and we had to have some many square feet for the women.

“We had to have a living room large enough to accommodate the girls during group meetings and a dining room large enough if they all wanted to sit down for dinner. We had to have so many refrigerators, bathrooms and other things in order to be approved by the state… I couldn’t have asked for a better house, it is perfect for what we need.”

The next Randolph County Commission meeting will be July 3 at 1:30 p.m. in the former IGA building on Randolph Avenue in Elkins.