COVID was deadly for those facing addiction. This program is helping people rebuild
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From relapse to recovery
After Megan Simpson graduated from Freedom House, a recovery center in Clay County, she struggled with finding a stable job and a recovery community. Then, she got a big COVID relief check. She found herself slipping back into addiction.
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Kentuckians struggling to dig themselves out of the hole of addiction already had enough to worry about. Then came the pandemic.
While others pivoted to working or learning from home, support groups shuttered, relationships were severed and those recovering from addiction were shoved back into a sometimes deadly isolation.
And for rural Kentuckians, fighting a lonely battle against their addiction, the feeling of being set adrift has been magnified.
“COVID hit everybody like a brick,” said Vanessa Haste, who directs the Kentucky Access to Recovery program as its vice president.
If there’s one thing Haste wants these Kentuckians to know, it’s that they’re not alone and there is help for people exiting recovery programs to rebuild their lives.
Launched in 2019 by the nonprofit Federation of Appalachian Housing Enterprises, or FAHE, the Kentucky Access to Recovery program helps guide people down the winding paths of recovery.
KATR connects individuals recovering from opioid use disorder or stimulant use disorder to housing, child care, dental care, transportation and more.
The program serves 37 Kentucky counties.
What is KATR and how does it support people recovering from substance abuse?
KATR is geared toward people who are leaving a more structured rehabilitation program into the uncertainty and openness of independent living, Haste said.
The program helps with “building that foundation” for those in recovery looking for support.
“They’re really trying to get immersed back into the community,” Haste said, describing the boat many find themselves in after exiting something like a rehab or residential programs.
Haste said KATR strives to line up avenues of support to help those in recovery transition to sobriety – think of it like nailing down train tracks while the locomotive lurches forward.
It works with individuals in drug treatment or who’ve completed it within a year. Individuals must have a diagnosed addiction or a history of overdosing. They must also be a resident of one the organization’s service area.
KATR is specifically targeted to assist those at or below 200% of the federal poverty level. Many KATR clients are coming directly from incarcertaion or treatment programs and most have no income at all.
Since a lot of KATR clients are coming directly from incarceration or treatment, most of them have no income.
KATR can assist with most needs, including basic needs like help finding a job, getting clothing, car repair or bus fare and even dental services to help people overcome the stigma of tooth loss.
For something KATR can’t help with, Haste said it stands ready with a referral or help finding specific services. It does this by working with a special network of businesses and vendors and leveraging those relationships.
When you get someone connected with resources they need, “they are more likely to succeed in that recovery plan,” Haste said.
All of KATR’s clients come via referral, and it’s funded by grants from the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). Because of how the federal grant money must be used, Haste said those who come to KATR get to choose which vendor they’d like the program to use. A client can indicate their need for family residential programs if they need a place to stay with their children, for example.
“People in these programs want to help individuals,” Haste said. “Don’t let that fear of what that next step is prevent you from reaching out.”
This story was originally published March 24, 2022 at 10:24 AM with the headline "COVID was deadly for those facing addiction. This program is helping people rebuild."
