April Jackson hopes the end of a three-year grant won’t be the end of the Recovery House, which has helped 33 people and three dogs since March 2022.
The house offers temporary living and resources for those in recovery from substance use disorders. It’s just one part of a grant from the Department of Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) for the Rural Communities Opioid Response Program (RCORP). The grant was awarded in September 2021 and ends Aug. 31.
Unless new funding is secured, the Recovery House, 16 N. Buckeye St., may close its doors at the end of the year. The coalition applied for a new grant to continue services but won’t learn until late-August or early-September if they are successful.
The grant provided resources for the SEK Recovery Resources Coalition, with drug prevention programs and support in six counties. With the help of additional state grants, the work was expanded to cover nine counties. Jackson, addiction prevention and recovery resources director with Thrive Allen County, oversees the coalition and the Recovery House.
“My personal goal was to help others find recovery and give back to the community. It’s been awesome to see that happen,” Jackson, who has lived a sober lifestyle since 1999, said.
“Every day, not only are the residents in the Recovery House changing their own lives, but they are always a friendly face to someoene who walks in looking for resources. They’ll meet someone on the porch and talk. It’s a huge asset to the community.”
It didn’t start that way, Jackson acknowledged. Some in the community had reservations, she said. Over time, she’s seen attitudes shift from uncertainty to acceptance and support.
“The opposite of addiction is connection. The opposite of isolation is community,” Jackson said. “There’s a sense of community that is happening more organically. On July 4, we had a community dinner with a cookout, and we watched a couple of movies before we all went to the river and set off fireworks.”
OVER THE past three years, the grant has helped the coalition offer numerous resources to participating counties: Allen, Anderson, Bourbon, Coffey, Crawford, Franklin, Neosho, Wilson and Woodson.
They’ve brought speakers to four school districts and hosted mental health or trauma-informed care trainging for 36 agencies. They purchased $60,000 worth of supplies such as naloxone opioid reveral drugs, safe sex kits, wound care kits, safe medication disposal bags and fentanyl test trips.
The coalition also offered support such as transportation to recovery meetings and treatment services, referrals for recovery meetings, and assistance scheduling appointments or completing documents for vital records.
More than $43,000 was awarded to more than 150 applicants to help pay for such things as alcohol or drug evaluations, eye exams and glasses, identification paperwork, housing deposits and rent, prescriptions and help with utility bills.
“I would like to believe we’ve effected some change,” Jackson said. “I believe there’s still a long way to go.”
Dan Carroll, Thrive’s director of communications, agreed. “The residents I’ve met say their lives have changed for the better. There’s a ripple effect when you change one person’s life. You don’t know how many others it will impact.”
“What surprises me is the need,” Jackson continued. “When we started this, we knew there was a need but not to the extent we found.”
