Success Stories By MajorProgram FY2025Jul 1, 2024 - Jun 30, 2025
Comprehend Recovery Center: Growing Plants and Expanding Horizons
Author: Lorin Fawns
Major Program: Substance Use & Mental Health
Mason County Recovery Garden Success Story 2024 Growing SeasonTitle: Comprehend Recovery Center: Growing Plants and Expanding HorizonsByline: Macy Fawns, Mason County Horticulture Agent Kentucky faces significant challenges with substance use disorders, and recovery centers are a critical first line of support. Comprehend Recovery Center is one of 500 such facilities in the state. Comprehend offers intensive outpatient programming (IOP) for adults in Mason County. Over the course of the yea
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Sky Hope Recovery: Growing Plants and Expanding Horizons
Author: Bethany Wilson
Major Program: Substance Use & Mental Health
In 2021, 17,466 Kentuckians age 12 and older were admitted to drug and alcohol substance use centers, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). According to the 2023 Extension Community Assessment, Pulaski County residents identified support of substance use addiction prevention/recovery as a priority.Pulaski County Nutrition Education Program Assistant, Margie Hernandez and Extension Horticulture Agent, Beth Wilson, collaborated with Sky Hope Recovery
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Growing Plants and Expanding Horizons
Author: Robert Kirby
Major Program: Substance Use & Mental Health
In 2021, 17,466 Kentuckians age 12 and older were admitted to drug and alcohol substance use centers, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). According to the 2023 Extension Community Assessment, Knox County residents identified Spero Health Recovery Center as a priority.Knox County FCS Agent, Kelsee Dewees and Agriculture Agent, Kelsee Dewees, collaborated with Spero Health during April to November to teach both gardening skills and nutrition educati
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Truth and Consequences
Author: Chuck Flowers
Major Program: Substance Use & Mental Health
The Carlisle County Cooperative Extension Service, in collaboration with the Agency for Substance Abuse Policy (ASAP), has been hosting the "Truth and Consequences" program to address the growing issue of substance abuse in communities. Local data highlights concerning trends, including cigarette smoking, smokeless tobacco, alcohol consumption, marijuana, and other drug use. In Carlisle County, 4.8% of adults report drinking alcohol, and 14.5% are smokers. Additionally, the teen birth
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Substance Use and Mental Health (SUMH) Collective Impact Initiative
Author: Alexander Elswick
Major Program: Substance Use & Mental Health
Statewide assessments of community priorities conducted by University of Kentucky (UK) Extension identified substance use and mental health as immediate priority issues in an overwhelming majority of Kentucky counties in 2019 and again in 2023 (UK Cooperative Extension Service, 2019; 2023). The findings of the needs assessments are not surprising given that Kentucky residents disproportionately experience mental health disorders, substance use disorder (SUD), and related harms (Kaiser Family Fou
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