HOPKINSVILLE, KY (CHRISTIAN COUNTY NOW) – A locally operated recovery house in Hopkinsville is supporting men who are dealing with addiction by providing housing, workforce connections and therapy to guide them through the process of overcoming drug and alcohol abuse. Located in the big blue building on Ninth Street, Courage House is able to accommodate a dozen men at a time, equipped with all of the comforts of home.

“We are thrown away all the time when we get convicted, and when we’re thrown out of jail, we have nowhere to go, we have nothing to do, family turned their back on us. All we have left is the streets,” said an emotional Courage House resident and peer leader Victor McClary, describing himself as a broke, drunk, drug addict before he came there.

Now, he is now celebrating his sobriety and is a leader in the house. He added, “I appreciate all my brothers in the house, they helped me grow and then we grow together…this is a place where you come and succeed.”

He explained to Christian County Now that there are three peer leaders in the house who take on additional responsibilities, acting as additional mediators while independently working on their own journey. He was the fourth person to join Courage House when they began and was the first to ever receive a one-year sober chip from the program.

McClary shared that the kitchen is the heart of Courage House, as he and others enjoy cooking meals and coming together once a week to eat on Sundays. He additionally stressed the importance of donations, explaining that he had nothing but the clothes on his back when he got out of jail, and relied on donated clothes, shoes and toiletries.

Another current resident at Courage House shared about the impact the house has had on him during his five-month journey into sobriety, “It’s a great energy, I feel good when I wake up in the morning. I put myself here, I wasn’t court ordered…I’ve got children I need to be better for, and this is the place for me to be.”

Mission of Courage House, ribbon cutting

Although their doors opened just over a year ago to serve the Hopkinsville community, Courage House welcomed in community members, county officials and legislators for an official ribbon cutting on July 31 alongside the Christian County Chamber of Commerce.

Founders Valinda Woodard and Fred Cowan spoke about the mission of Courage House during the event, saying that they started the program by funding it out of their own pockets. That all changed this spring when the Christian County Fiscal Court allocated around $80,000 to them from available Opioid Settlement Funds.

“We can say that we are doing wraparound services now, supporting them on just about everything they need,” said Woodard, speaking about how they have grown over the past year. Case worker Leticia Sanders added, “We are a family here, and we’re teaching these guys to be brothers and we’re teaching them to climb up. We really want our men to be successful.”

She added that the Fletcher Group provided a lot of support early on in development of Courage house, helping them navigate through the process. Representative Jade Hampton praised their commitment to getting the program up and running.

“This is what’s missing in Kentucky,” said Hampton. “This is not about numbers and money, this is done with love, and we just want the community to get healthy, to get well. This population that struggles with substance abuse disorders, they’re not bad folks. Morals have nothing to do with this, it’s about sick people wanting to get well.”

Several others spoke on behalf of the mission including Christian County Judge Executive Jerry Gilliam, Magistrate Magaline Ferguson, and their in-house therapist. In regard to workforce development, Cowan said they have been able to establish connections to local companies like Toyota and the Walmart distribution center thanks to efforts from Regenia Smith.

For more more information about services and how to support their mission, contact Courage House at (270) 889-4687, or email fjcowan@yahoo.com. Find their location at 1414 Ninth Street in Hopkinsville.

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