With plans to obtain her GED as the first step towards a college degree, Katie Ridenour’s future looks considerably brighter than when she arrived at Project Hope in March of 2023.
A native of West Virginia’s Eastern Panhandle, at age 13 Ridenour started smoking pot with her cousins before graduating to heroin and other drugs. At one point, she temporarily lost custody of her two oldest children.
Trying to get clean, she checked into a 30-day rehab program and took a form of Suboxone, used to treat opioid and heroin addiction. But she quit when she learned she was pregnant with her third child.
“I was seven months pregnant and ended up relapsing on meth,” says Ridenour, who has been employed by a Huntington apparel shop since completing Project Hope’s program in the fall of 2023. “Meth was my drug of choice after I got clean from heroin. I used it the rest of my pregnancy.”
The day before going into labor, the 20-something mother searched for rehab programs that would allow children; she was afraid of losing permanent custody if she didn’t keep all three with her.
Child Protective Services (CPS) immediately got involved in her case since her youngest child tested positive for meth at delivery. They gave her an option: rehab or lose all rights to that infant.
First, Ridenour checked into another 30-day program. When it ended, her CPS case worker gave her one week to find longer-term treatment. Two days after her discharge from the program, a Project Hope staff member called to say they had a bed.
While the program is normally six months, the facility gave Ridenour extra time to make adjustments needed to regain custody of her children while living far from family.
Project Hope also allowed her to stay in an apartment there for an additional three months to find more stable employment and a place to live.
“When I first moved out of Project Hope the amount of support they offered me was incredible,” said Ridenour, who hopes to one day earn a degree in behavioral health. “Any time I was feeling overwhelmed I could call my peers or any staff member. Even now I still do therapy.”
Not only did the Marshall Health initiative help her obtain custody of her children, they persuaded her to reconsider behavior and attitudes that locked her in a defeatist mindset. With a more positive outlook, she reestablished contact with family and for the first time ever enjoys a close relationship with her older sister.
“I’ve been to different treatment facilities and Project Hope is different,” Ridenour said. “They say, ‘This is what you need to do. What do you need us to do? How can we help?’ The way they get involved with clients and children is like nothing I’ve ever seen. It’s amazing. I wouldn’t be where I am today without them.”
