HENDERSON, Ky. (WEHT) – Attorney General Russell Coleman announced more than $19.8 million was awarded to 75 Kentucky organizations to combat the opioid and drug epidemic throughout the state, and some of those grants will go to western Kentucky.
AG Coleman announced the awards at Goodwill’s West Louisville Opportunity Center alongside Executive Director of the Kentucky Opioid Abatement Advisory Commission Chris Evans and Goodwill Industries of Kentucky President and CEO Amy Luttrell. On Tuesday, the Opioid Abatement Advisory Commission approved the grant applications in two categories: Treatment/Recovery and Prevention.
“Throughout this process, we’ve seen the inspirational work of dedicated Kentuckians in every corner of our Commonwealth. They all share one goal: to save lives,” said Opioid Abatement Commission Director Evans. “I’m grateful to the Commission members and staff for the countless hours spent reviewing applications so we could invest in the programs that will change the trajectory of our Commonwealth.”
The following organizations in the Eyewitness News coverage area received grant funding from the Opioid Abatement Advisory Commission, along with the counties they serve:
Treatment grants
- Cumberland Trace Legal Services – $93,750
- Combine holistic legal services with supportive services to promote recovery, stability and independence.
- Includes Daviess, Hancock, Henderson, Hopkins, McLean, Muhlenberg, Ohio, Union and Webster counties.
- Family Scholar House – $287,149
- Support Recovery, Employment, Advocacy and Limitless (REAL) Opportunities, a five-step approach to wrap-around services during and post-treatment to progress individuals from ‘crisis to stability.’
- Hope Center – $267,501
- Support licensed residential treatment for adult men who are homeless or at risk of homelessness with opioid use disorder and co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders.
- Horsesensing – $116,154
- Provide residential treatment and therapeutic job training and placement for people living with opioid use disorder and co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders through training to be a professional in the horse industry.
- Kentucky Health Departments Association – $557,171
- Provide a statewide harm reduction steering committee through harm reduction coordinators within local health departments (LHDs) along with technical assistance by the Kentucky River District Health Department (KRDHD).
- Ramey-Estep Homes – $224,000
- Reduce barriers to accessing, maintaining and completing recovery treatment through housing, transportation services, skill building, job training and onsite medical care.
- Second Hope Ministries – $28,500
- Assist currently or formerly incarcerated individuals whose lives and families have been broken by OUD/SUD in finding recovery and purpose as they work to repair their relationships
- Shepherds House -$345,708
- Provide critically needed crisis access housing for persons with opioid use disorder while utilizing evidence-based practices and trauma-informed care in a therapeutic community.
Prevention grants
- Hope Center – $287,260
- Provide OUD prevention, as well as access to OUD treatment and recovery resources to homeless or precariously housed adults with or at-risk of Opioid Use Disorder.
- Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education – $488,676
- Provide trauma-informed recovery support services tailored to adult learners impacted by opioid use disorder (OUD) and co-occurring mental health challenges.
- Kentucky Youth Advocates – $126,543
- Use data to inform action at the local level through community discussions and individualized support to prevent future generations from experiencing the devastation of the opioid epidemic.
- Lincoln Heritage Council – $31,361
- Equip youth with the knowledge, skills and support systems they need to make informed, healthy choices and prevent drug abuse.
- Includes Daviess, Hancock, Henderson, Hopkins, McLean, Muhlenberg, Ohio, Union and Webster counties
- Owensboro/Daviess County Family YMCA -$208,508
- Develop and implement evidence-based opioid prevention strategies tailored to the diverse needs of communities across Kentucky.
- Includes Daviess, Henderson, Hopkins, and Union counties
- South Central Kentucky Kids on the Block – $27,636
- Focus on breaking the cycle of abuse by presenting substance use prevention and child abuse prevention programs.
- Includes Daviess, Hopkins, and Ohio counties
- The Beacon of West Kentucky – $91,015
- Support efforts of community collaborators in identifying adults needing treatment and provide the opportunity to support youth’s social emotional needs while parents are incarcerated, in treatment, and recovery
Officials say according to state law, the Commission is responsible for distributing the Commonwealth’s share of the more than $900 million from settlements with the corporations behind the opioid crisis. The other half of the recovered funds are distributed among the state’s cities and counties according to a predetermined formula.