Isaiah House graduates find recovery, employment through partnerships with local manufacturers

HARRODSBURG, Ky. — For David Taylor, arriving at Isaiah House marked a turning point after years of instability.

“I came to Isaiah House broken, just hopeless,” Taylor said.

Taylor explains why he turned to the Kentucky nonprofit for help.

“I was in and out of jail, homeless, about as low as a man could go,” Taylor said. “I came to Isaiah House because I didn’t want to go to jail again.”

Today, Taylor works as a retail fulfillment supervisor at Earth Breeze in Harrodsburg. He said the company took a chance on him when it hired him about a year ago, giving him an opportunity to build stability after treatment.

“I wouldn’t want to work anywhere else,” Taylor said.

Taylor’s experience is part of a broader effort by Isaiah House to connect people in recovery with employment opportunities.

Jason Gabhart, an Isaiah House graduate who now works as a client care navigator across 12 Kentucky counties, including Boyle and Woodford, understands that journey firsthand.

“I walked in homeless. I walked in beat down in this town. I’m from here,” Gabhart said.

Gabhart said partnerships with businesses such as Earth Breeze can benefit both people rebuilding their lives and employers looking for dependable workers.

“They’re showing that if you remove the stigma and give someone the opportunity, they’re going to perform and they’re going to show up because they’ve been in this long-term treatment,” Gabhart said.

In addition to working with a few local staffing agencies, Isaiah House says it teamed up with five local manufacturers and helped 19 graduates secure jobs with those partners over the past year.

For Taylor, the impact of recovery and the opportunity to take on new responsibilities extends far beyond a job.

“My life today … it’s a miracle,” Taylor said.

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