Center is one of ten Recovery Kentucky centers to open
OWENSBORO, KY – May 19, 2010 – (RealEstateRama) — First Lady Jane Beshear, along with Department for Local Government (DLG) Commissioner Tony Wilder and Kentucky Housing Corporation (KHC) Chief Executive Officer Richard L. McQuady, participated in a ribbon-cutting event today for Owensboro Regional Recovery, Ltd., one of ten recovery centers that works to reduce the state’s drug and homelessness problems. Owensboro Regional Recovery, Ltd., will provide counseling, support, and hope for up to 100 men at a time who are recovering from drug and alcohol addiction.
“Addiction truly is a disease and must be treated as such,” said Mrs. Beshear. “I am always amazed by the strength and commitment the individuals in these centers demonstrate.”
The development is part of the Recovery Kentucky initiative, a joint effort by the Department for Local Government, Department of Corrections, and Kentucky Housing Corporation (KHC), to build housing recovery centers across the state. As supportive housing developments, each center uses a recovery program model that includes peer support, daily living skills training, job responsibilities and challenges to practice sober living.
“The Recovery Kentucky program is part of Kentucky’s Ten-Year Plan to End Homelessness,” said Richard L. McQuady, KHC chief executive officer. “The plan seeks to end homelessness in the state by providing solutions to the root causes of homelessness.”
Without a stable place to live and a support system to help them address underlying problems, most homeless people who also suffer from substance abuse and addiction rotate around shelters, public hospitals, psychiatric institutions and detoxification centers. The true cost of homelessness is passed to the community through higher demands on law enforcement, corrections, health care, welfare, education and other systems.
The results of a two-year study conducted by the Kent School of Social Work at the University of Louisville showed that it cost nearly $89 million over a two-year period to shelter and care for just over 7,000 single homeless adults. The study also showed that providing permanent housing to these individuals over the two-year period would have saved $6.4 million. This study, and others like it, demonstrates that providing permanent, supportive housing is the best and most cost-effective way to solve homelessness.
Supportive housing and recovery programs like Recovery Kentucky are proven to help people who face addiction and substance abuse issues to live more stable, rewarding lives. The program has been demonstrated successfully by both the Hope Center in Lexington and The Healing Place in Louisville and was named “A Model That Works” by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
There are Recovery Kentucky centers in Owensboro, Campbellsville, Richmond, Morehead, Hopkinsville, Henderson, Harlan, Florence and Erlanger. The tenth center is currently under construction in Paducah.
Contact:
Elizabeth Roach
502-564-2611
