CLARK COUNTY, Ky. (LEX 18) — Nearly 100,000 Kentuckians were incarcerated or on probation in 2022, according to the Kentucky Center for Economy Policy.
"After long-term treatment, after incarceration, after that - what is next, where do I start? Where do I go after that?" said Sheila Brown, the director of the Recovery Community Center (RCC) in Clark County.
The RCC offers Narcotics Anonymous and Alcoholics Anonymous classes, showers, laundry services and peer-led support groups. Residents can learn interview skills and how to apply for jobs - hearing directly from someone who has been in their shoes.
"They have somebody who will walk hand-in-hand with them to give them the opportunities we have as someone in long term recovery. It's someone who knows and has empathy and knows how to help them," said Brown.
With the new year comes a clean slate. The center also offers expungement clinics. Brown tells LEX18 she's in the process herself.
"This is going to open up better doors for me, for school, housing," she said. "It's not a life sentence. It's a new life for our new beginning in recovery."
Volunteer Cricket Wagner said the center provided a new beginning for her too.
"I first started at RCC when I was an addict two years ago," said Wagner. "I was definitely nervous, but everyone is very welcoming and you feel like you fit in once you're here."
Wagner calls the center a safe space for residents of Clark County.
"Being able to volunteer and give back helps me to stay on track and do what I need to do. And it feels good to be able to help somebody else in the same situation that I was in," she said.
The RCC is located in the same building as the Clark County Health Department on Professional Avenue in Winchester.
