Stephanie Porter-Nichols Staff

A Southwest Virginia in-patient addiction treatment center is nearing completion.

Last week, John Graham, the chair of the non-profit board behind the Appalachian Center for Hope, told U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine, “We’re close.”

Kaine, a longtime supporter of the project who has visited the Marion site multiple times, toured the future home of the ACH, which is in the former Rehab Building on the Southwestern Virginia Mental Health Institute campus.

The Rehab Building has served multiple purposes over time but most recently sat unused for years. The building was on a demolition list had it not been for General Assembly action to save it for the treatment center. After about two years of negotiations, the Commonwealth deeded over the building to Smyth County in Ju

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