HAZARD, Ky. — A state report released this summer found that the five counties with the highest rates of overdose deaths all sit in Appalachia. This area was hit hard by the opioid epidemic and today, fentanyl is the leading cause of overdose deaths in the state.
In Hazard, an all-encompassing recovery program is working to break the stigma around substance use treatment to get people on the right path. Beacons of Hope opened its doors in 2021, since then it has continued to grow and offer more services to the region.
“I think the opioid epidemic, the epicenter was here because of the coal mining,” said executive director Greg Burke. “They get, you know, some kind of pain relief. They went back to work. All they were trying to do was go help and provide for their families and stuff. And I think it kind of started that way. I don’t think it was ever ill intent, but I think that’s probably what started it.”
Burke is now working to help those with substance abuse disorder. He started at Beacons of Hope in 2023 after a career with the Bureau of Prisons. At the end of his time there, Burke says he ran the BOP’s largest recidivism reducing program. He also grew up in eastern Kentucky.
“You can’t continue to do something a certain way and look for a different outcome, that’s the definition of insanity,” Burke said of the older view on treating substance abuse through jail time.
“We strive to do the whole spectrum from the very first withdraw management all the way to the end. So where they have recovery, housing, where they can go there and they’re in a stable environment, then go out and get into the workforce and we try to help them with that as well,” said Burke as he described Beacons of Hope’s approach to the issue.
He explains their facility, just outside of Hazard, can house up to 61 people as they go through recovery treatment. They also have space for mothers with young children.
“I tell all these clients all the time, when you look in the mirror one of these days, you’re going to see what I see in you,” Burke said. “And once you figure that out, the potential is just it’s unbelievable.”
Beacons of Hope also employs people who’ve been through its program. Including Holly Nation, who was right where current clients are not long ago.
“When I first got here, I didn’t even want to be clean. And then as I was here longer I seen the other peer supports here, and them helping people, and then I thought that’s what I want to do,” Nation told Spectrum News.
Nation is now in recovery and can talk to her own children back home in Louisville every day. Something she’s grateful for.
“You might think life is over, but it’s not. There’s so many that I’ve gained since I’ve gotten clean and if, I know if I can get clean anybody can get clean,” she said.
In 2023, Perry County was designated a recovery ready community by Gov. Andy Beshear, D-Ky. It signifies the county’s commitment to providing residents with access to addiction treatment and recovery support.