GEORGETOWN, Ky. — Gov. Andy Beshear, D-Ky, and Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman recently announced that Hardin, McCracken and Scott counties are Recovery Ready Communities. This distinction is given to counties that have resources that provide access to treatment facilities, recovery support, and remove barriers to the workforce for residents overcoming drug addiction.

What You Need To Know

  •  Hardin, McCracken and Scott counties were all recently named Recovery Ready Communities

  •  Recovery Ready Communities are counties with resources that provide access to treatment facilities, recovery support, and remove barriers to the workforce for residents who are struggling with substance use disorder

  •  The Georgetown Police Department has a Recovery Support Team that works with people who have substance use disorder 

  • They work with nonprofits, like the AMEN House, for the team's Operation Hope Angel Program to provide support for people seeking recovery services

Georgetown Police established its Recovery Support Team at the end of 2022.

“We do outreach, post-overdose response, we have our Operation Hope Angel Program where anybody can come ask for help with substance use disorder and we will find them treatment and transport if necessary,” said Corey Councill, the team’s coordinator.

Members of the Recovery Support Team drive unmarked cars and don’t wear police uniforms to interact with people who have substance use disorder. They do this to put people at ease who may be wary of law enforcement. 

Corey Councill is the Recovery Support coordinator in Scotty County. (Spectrum News 1/Geraldine Torrellas)

The Recovery Support Team also supports people through drug court and has a Community Mental Health Coalition.

The team’s post-overdose response consists of making contact with a person who has overdosed within 24 to 72 of the overdose. They also give people a resource list and go with the county’s EMS and health department to hand out Narcan.

The Recovery Support Team works closely with nonprofits for its Operation Hope Angel Program.

Serena Woods, the social worker at Scott County’s only food pantry, AMEN House, talks with people who have substance use disorder to go over recovery treatment options. Woods then contacts the Recovery Support Team to find a place for them and to get the individual transported to the facility.

Serena Woods is a social worker at AMEN House, a food pantry. This is the only food pantry in Scott County and serves about 800 families a month. (Spectrum News 1/Geraldine Torrellas)

“The amount of dignity that I have seen them give some of our people that come for help here in the parking lot, it’s amazing,” said Woods. “It’s not humiliating, it’s not embarrassing. They give our people a lot of dignity.”

A big component of the Recovery Support Team is to establish trust with the people who they serve.

These efforts have contributed to Scott County being named a Recovery Ready Community.

Scott County saw a decline in non-fatal overdose calls in 2023. There’s also been a decline in overdose deaths for the first time since 2018. Members of the Recovery Support Team say that handing out Narcan may be one component that contributed to fewer fatalities.

In April 2023, Beshear announced that Kentucky saw a 5% decline in drug overdose deaths in 2022 compared with 2021.

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