By Phil Pendleton, WKYT
FRANKFORT, Ky. (9-28-22) – State leaders say there’s another tool to help people suffering from drug addiction.
Governor Beshear and others announced the formation of a new website – FindRecoveryHousingNowKY.org – to help people find housing, if they are suffering from drug addiction and substance abuse.
Kentucky has had staggering overdose numbers within the past two years and state leaders say there’s been a serious need for housing people who are struggling. There’s now a partnership between public health and the University of Kentucky to assist with this.
“So we had to have another site, where people could search, by gender, by location, by zip code. Where there was available choices for housing for people in recovery, starting their recovery,” said Eric Friedlander, the Kentucky Public Health Commissioner.
It’s a partnership between the recovery housing network and the Kentucky Injury Prevention and Research Center. Governor Beshear says as long as people are trying get better and get through their addictions, they want to help them.
“And just think what happens, when we have all the treatment beds we may need at one point. We have recovery housing to keep people in recovery. We have good jobs waiting when we provide them the skills,” Gov. Beshear said.
There are different types of recovery houses to keep a variety of different needs people may have based on them and their families.
“But we are also onboarding houses that will accept women with children or men with children. So if you go to the search criteria, that will display the houses that meet your needs,” said Terry Bunn with the Kentucky Injury Prevention and Research Center.
Operation UNITE works in drug treatment and recovery in southern and eastern Kentucky. President and CEO Nancy Hale says they welcome another tool to help such a critical need and that it fills a gap in continuum recovery care.
“Operation UNITE is extremely pleased to learn about this additional recovery resource available to Kentuckians struggling with a substance use disorder,” Hale said. “It helps fill a gap in the recovery continuum of care by enabling those in treatment to identify and access transitional housing that best meets their needs. It provides recovery resources and will partner well with the services provided by UNITE’s KY HELP Statewide Call Center staff. By reducing barriers, we help ensure a person is able to maintain their sobriety and long-term recovery.”