UPDATED 6-21-19 – Five free, regional Operation UNITE Shoot Hoops Not Drugs basketball skills camps for youth throughout southern and eastern Kentucky will be conducted between June 11 and June 20. Former University of Kentucky point guard and four-time All-SEC Academic Team member Jarrod Polson – who was part of the 2011-12 National Championship squad – will conduct these three-hour camps. All school-age youth are invited to participate in the camps, to...

WASHINGTON, D.C., May 13, 2019 — Today, the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) announced the formation of the Substance Abuse Advisory Council (SAAC), a 24-member volunteer advisory group of leaders from law enforcement, recovery services, health, economic development, private industry, education, state government and other sectors. Nancy Hale, President/CEO of Operation UNITE, will serve as a SAAC member. The SAAC will develop recommendations for ARC to...

Twenty-three high school seniors in the Class of 2019 have been selected to receive “I Am UNITE” scholarships totaling $34,500 for being champions for anti-drug efforts in their schools and communities.   “These scholarships honor youth – whom we call UNITE Ambassadors – who have excelled not only this year, but throughout much of their undergraduate careers, by being champions for anti-drug efforts within their schools and communities,”...

Somerset – U.S. Rep. Harold “Hal” Rogers and Governor Matt Bevin joined state and local officials, and leaders of Somerset Community College (SCC), on May 6, 2019, to announce four university partnerships that will allow local students to earn a bachelor’s degree through the new University Center of Southern Kentucky in Somerset. The university partners include: Eastern Kentucky University (EKU), Western Kentucky University (WKU), Morehead State...

ATLANTA, GA (April 16, 2019) – President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump have accepted an invitation from Congressman Hal Rogers and Operation UNITE to join them at the Rx Drug Abuse & Heroin Summit in Atlanta on Wednesday, April 24. The annual Rx Drug Abuse and Heroin Summit continues to lead the way toward better policies and practices to save lives and address the national opioid abuse crisis. The four-day conference, which will take place...

FRANKFORT — A new initiative to help Kentucky’s court system better address the state’s opioid epidemic was announced Thursday, April 11, 2019, by the Kentucky Court of Justice. RESTORE (Responsive Education to Support Treatment in Opioid Recovery Efforts) is a collaborative effort between the Judicial and Executive branches of state government, along with community organizations such as Operation UNITE. The goal is to provide training and resources...

SOMERSET – Success in taking clients from addiction to meaningful employment has garnered Addiction Recovery Care (ARC) national recognition. Due to the success of its flagship vocational training program – the Peer Support Specialist Academy – ARC has been selected as one of the first organizations in the country to participate in the Building Evidence on Employment Strategies for Low-Income Families (BEES) project. “That the U.S. Department of Health and...