MARTINSBURG, W.Va. — A new in-patient detox facility is the first for Berkeley County’s seat in over 20 years.
The Paloma Crisis Stabilization & Detox Center is located along Wilson Street near the heart of Martinsburg. Although they will not start taking patients until October 1, the public was invited into the center Friday for an open house.
Martinsburg-based Callahan Counseling Services will run the facility. Owner and local social worker Peter Callahan told MetroNews affiliate WEPM that Paloma is the first in-patient rehabilitation facility in Martinsburg since around 1996. He wanted the public to come inside to get a better understanding of what Paloma and Callahan Counseling Services will be able to contribute to the community.
“They can come in and really view it and criticize it if they want. We still have a little bit of time to take those criticisms into consideration and then kind of make some changes if we need to. So far there haven’t been any, which is wonderful. We’ve really worked pretty hard at looking at other facilities and trying to figure out what their problems were that they ran into.”
The facility will offer therapist and counselor offices, common living areas, a full kitchen and dining area as well as eight in-patient rooms. Each room will have two beds and a private bathroom. The center plans to employ about 30 people. A key program that will set Paloma apart is crisis stabilization.
“The crisis stabilization is if somebody is not doing well but doesn’t need a hospital stay, but just needs sort of respite care,” said Callahan. “Some place to just kind of relax and regroup. All we’re trying to do at this facility is stabilize them so they can go into a longer-term treatment program somewhere else.”
Paloma will begin accepting patients on October 1.
“Addiction is the disease of choice, and if we don’t give them a choice for recovery they’re not going to take it,” said Callahan. “That’s what we’re doing is offering hope for families and people that are suffering to just get some sort of hope and recovery.”
For more information on Paloma, click here.