In 2016 Troy Ball attended the Conference on Crimes Against Women in Dallas, TX. While there, Troy attended a brief class on trauma informed victim interviewing taught by Justin Boardman, a retired detective with the West Valley City Police Department. After completing the brief training, Justin also told participants about soft interview rooms. His catch phrase “Why do we interview victims in the same room we interrogate suspects” summed it up well.  A soft interview room is designed around the needs of interviewees. Everything about the room is purposeful. Comfortable furniture to sit on along with functional tables to use, softer and more appropriate lighting such as table lamps, the floor covering, and the pillows are all intentional.

Later in 2016, Troy, along with other representatives from WV, attended the Training Institute on Strangulation Prevention in San Diego, CA the home of Alliance for Hope International. During the training, the representatives found themselves at a table next to Justing Boardman. During the weeklong training Troy acquired as much information as he could about soft interview rooms the campaign to raise funds used by Justin. Also while attending this training, the team saw a presentation about Camp Hope America. After the presentation, the team committed themselves to making sure such a camp would be created in WV.

Upon his return home, Troy met with MPD Det. Larry Hasley and discussed soft interview rooms. Larry agreed it was a good idea so they met with Chief Preston. Chief Preston also thought it was a good idea, telling Larry and Troy to design a room and figure out how to fund it. If they could do that, he would consider a soft interview room at the Morgantown Police Department.

Troy and Larry assembled of team of stakeholders including a representative from WVU Title IX, an advocate from the Rape and Domestic Violence Information Center (RDVIC), and a representative from the community. They created a document describing the room and the intent of the room. The team then went out to the community asking for financial support. The team found that everyone they approached wanted to help in some way. Some wanted to donate money from a business or their personal account, some wanted to donate time, and some chose to do both. When the team was sure they had the necessary commitment of funds, they returned to Chief Preston. Chief Preston selected a room and told the team to begin construction.

The team continued to seek support from the community to help fund the project but also sought assistance designing the room. Representatives from the Monongalia County Child Advocacy Center provided information that would assist in the design of the room including placement of furniture, color of walls, and proper lighting. The management team from Lowe’s provided insight into and provided the best materials and volunteered their time to help complete the room. The list of people who helped make the soft interview room a reality is long. The team found themselves moved by the willingness and commitment of the community to this project.

On April 5, 2017, the “Judy King Soft Interview Room” was revealed to the public during a media event at the Morgantown Police Department. All contributors were invited and heard Chief Preston and Monongalia Prosecuting Attorney Perri DeChristopher speak about the importance of the room and how it enhances law enforcement’s ability to serve the public. The Dominion Post later created a video of the event.

In summary, law enforcement, victim advocates, and representatives from WVU Title IX engaged the community for support. As a result, the first soft interview room in WV was created without using a single dollar of taxpayer’s money. Every dime was contributed by businesses and individuals. There was positive media for everyone involved and a room was created to help serve victims of traumatic incidents in the best possible way.

During this time, Larry and Troy learned the police department could not accept monetary donations and the city could but, the money would go into the general fund and formal requests would be required to access the money. Fortunately, there was a good relationship between RDVIC and Morgantown Police. All money was donated to RDVIC and then paid to merchants for the items used in the room. After seeing how successful the project could be, Larry and Troy thought about trying to find ways to encourage other jurisdictions to construct similar rooms and seek out the training necessary to maximize use of the room. Realizing money would likely be a major concern, they decided to create a non-profit organization that could receive the money on behalf of a group constructing a room.

Larry and Troy also decided that a camp hope in WV would also need a non-profit organization under which to operate. They recruited the help of good friends and created a powerful Board of Directors. In September 2023, Alliance for Hope Appalachia, Inc. (AHA) became a non-profit organization in WV.

Moving forward AHA will receive 501c3 status allowing AHA to accept tax deductible donations. Troy and Audra (Board member and spouse) have been accepted into the Camp Hope America program on behalf of AHA. They will attend training and the first camp hope in WV is scheduled for summer 2025.