Anchor for Hope, Safety and Recovery

 

 

Lynn Bledsoe

Gimlet Managing Editor

 

The Anchor Project in Bowling Green was brought to life recently with a groundbreaking ceremony.  The Anchor Project is sponsored by Life Skills, BRADD, and Med Center, and all 10 counties in the BRADD area. Stakeholders came from different areas to form a crisis response team for mental health and drug addiction issues.

In December 2021, an idea began, due to a conversation on homelessness and the census showing growth in Bowling Green. A 25-plus working group of elected officials, mental health workers, law enforcement, jail workers, health, and judicial members has been working on transforming how we treat mental health for those in need.

The Anchor Project will provide immediate treatment, by-passing judicial, and provide medical, mental health, and substance use treatments quickly.  The Project will allow individuals to seek immediate treatment and allow police to bring in patients and quickly return to their area to continue patrols. It will divert ER trips and overloading jails and court systems.

Many stakeholders researched the subject by travelling to other states to see what they are doing and by visiting other treatment centers in Kentucky. It was an eye-opening experience for many, and their needs were pushed to the forefront in order to gain some control over these issues.

 

 

Signal Hill and Kelly Construction were awarded the building project earlier this year and worked to make the dream of the treatment center a viable reality.

Funding for the project came from the Kentucky General Assembly in the form of $20 million.  The Project will continue to seek support from federal, state, regional, and local levels to complete and maintain the Project. Most of the additional funding will be through the Opioid Abatement payments each county and city has received, and with Medicaid and insurance being billed to help the Project run its day-to-day services.

 

 

Phase two of the regional project will be a rehabilitation center that hosts a 12-week program based on the Life Learning Center, which has a recidivism rate below 8% versus the national average of 83%.

Phase three is through the Office of Drug Control Policy to help individuals with mental health issues and connect families and individuals with support in prevention, treatment, recovery, and continued care.

Judge Executive Scott Lindsey – “It will be a lifeline for those who need it.”            “I am very excited about this project and the opportunities that it will provide people in our community who desperately need these services. This project has the potential to make a huge impact on those struggling with mental health and addiction in Edmonson County.”

 

 

We have not forgotten you, and we are going to meet you where you are- Eric Sexton- Executive Director for BRADD Dr. Sue Parrigin- “We are going to be a beacon.”