DAVID MAMARIL HOROWITZ

david.horowitz@bgdailynews.com

 

When she was a child, Nikki Turner said, she knew no one who had been to prison — but that was before childbirth and hip surgery. Pain prompted a prescription to the painkiller OxyContin. Then, an addiction caused Turner to lose her husband, children and two houses, and brought her down a path that led to her incarceration.

Today, nearly seven years sober, she still recalls how her employer, Goodwill of Kentucky, supported her and paid the deposit on her first place out of prison. And she recalls how — with assistance from other numerous community members — she went on to launch the sober living home Malta Recovery.

“I get to do all this because of this community,” she said. “Nobody has judged me. “Not once has this community allowed (my felony) to keep me from helping other people, not once has it kept me from being able to do what God is leading me to do in my heart — not once … That’s what kind of community you got here, and I wouldn’t want to be in any other.”

Turner spoke last Friday at the Barren River District Health Department as one among numerous community providers who serve Warren County residents in the recovery, treatment and prevention of substance use disorders. The gathering was one of Warren County’s final steps toward a new state certification implemented in recent years, the Recovery Ready Communities Certification Program — where a city or county must first complete an 80-question application and ultimately demonstrate an availability of high-quality substance use recovery, treatment and prevention programs.

Two members of the nonprofit Volunteers for America, which facilitates the program, attended to inform their process of creating a recommendation report, which they intend to share with an advisory council for review. In late summer, the council will decide whether Warren County qualifies.

BRDHD Harm Reduction Coordinator Cally Stuart expressed complete confidence in the county’s readiness for the certification ahead of the hourslong series of presentations and panels, where providers spoke on their services in Warren County and the larger region.

“Warren County is rich in community organizations working together, coming together as a community to help people in need,” she said.

BRDHD Director Matt Hunt, BRADD Director of Drug Control Policy Brooke Edwards and LifeSkills President/CEO Joe Dan Beavers presented on the regional Anchor Project; LifeSkills’ Kelly Thompson and Warren County Sheriff Brett Hightower presented on a collaborative model for responding to crisis calls; Caysea Cooper from Behavioral Health Group, Chad Spencer from Goodwill of Kentucky and Regina Wool from Kobelco Aluminum held a panel on treatment and recovery support; BRDHD leaders and on-the-ground employees — Ashley Keown, Madisyn Smith and Brian Ray from Harm Reduction as well as Amanda Reckard on behalf of the BRIGHT Coalition — held a panel on harm reduction efforts.

While this readiness certification isn’t mandated, organizations could reap potential benefits. It could, for example, potentially open opportunities for community organizations to receive more grant funding, and the process helps highlight the offerings serving Warren County, Stuart said.

The process of qualifying brings organizations to the table to identify gaps and opportunities they can work on, Stuart added. Such areas identified include more education on substance abuse and prevention in school systems; solutions for law enforcement being stretched thin due to substantial time investments responding to crisis situations; more second-chance employees; reducing stigma against people struggling with substance use disorders; more long-term treatment options; and more funding for services, she said.

The initial presentations alone revealed several updates on initiatives being executed regionwide.

A BRADD initiative known as the Anchor Project, funded via $20 million in one-time capital expense and $3 million toward other project components, has planned to establish three centers through the coming year and offer other regional provisions.

“That’s about a 24-year dream for most law enforcement around here,” Warren County Sheriff Brett Hightower said about the Anchor Project.

A recently opened BRADD Office of Drug Control Policy serves “as point guard” for projects regionwide and assists local decision-makers effectively spending local, state and federal dollars, according to presentation slides. A Life Learning Center to the northeast regionally, slated to open in May 2026, intends to place stabilized candidates in a 12-week, evidence-based program to become substance-free and “gainfully employed,” according to the presentation. And for the same month or June, the project plans to open a Mental Health Crisis Intake Center to provide 24/7 triaging located under LifeSkills.

The presentation also described a plan for a co-response model, where law enforcement respond to certain crisis calls alongside behavioral health professionals, there are additional mobile crisis units for 24/7 support, community-based resources are utilized, and officers are trained in de-escalation and on mental health awareness.

The model is expected to lower costs from the criminal justice system, reduce emergency room overcrowding and save taxpayers on public safety expenses, according to the presentation.

At the meeting’s end, Dallas Hurley, one of the two present with Volunteers of America, offered strong words of appreciation.

“I think it’s very apparent both in application and from everyone’s presentations today, the level of coordination, cooperation,” Hurley said. “Across the state, I think there’s a lot of cities and counties that would be envious of the cooperation and then the fact we’re going to have this great regional approach ….”