AppalReD awarded $500,000 grant to provide free legal help

PRESTONSBURG – AppalReD Legal Aid has been awarded $500,000 by the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) to provide free civil legal help to break down barriers for impoverished individuals in opioid recovery to support their full recovery and integration into the workforce.

Legal Advocates (attorney and paralegals) will work in tandem with social workers, drug court personnel, and recovery and career center staff to address the issues that make workers’ lives unstable, in turn creating a stronger workforce and stronger communities.

AppalReD Legal Aid’s Project Renew: Revitalization and Recovery Through Civil Legal Aid will break down legal barriers preventing full recovery and integration into the workforce. The project will serve more than 1,000 impoverished individuals in recovery and exiting jail across 20 ARC counties, including Floyd. The project will be covered by three of AppalReD Legal Aid’s offices: Barbourville, Hazard, and Richmond.

Project Renew launched in January in Floyd County with the addition of a dedicated attorney. In the coming weeks, AppalReD Legal Aid will be hiring a second Project Renew Attorney and two paralegals to staff the project.

“We are thrilled to expand Project Renew to 19 more counties. There are so many ways legal aid can support someone in recovery. We already knew from a pilot project that 80 percent of individuals in recovery have more than one civil legal aid issue they needed help with,” said Robert Johns, executive director of AppalReD Legal Aid. “We address the poverty issues that wear people down, even when they desperately want to succeed. Attorneys can help with clearing a criminal record, domestic violence and custody issues, evictions and housing, and much more. The potential of this group of people is boundless. Civil legal aid unlocks that potential. People can and do recover from addiction, particularly when they are supported by community systems.”

The award is part of a recently announced $12 million package through ARC’s INSPIRE Initiative, which addresses the region’s substance use disorder crisis with investments that strengthen services in the recovery ecosystem and help facilitate workforce entry and re-entry.

Since INSPIRE was established in April 2021, ARC has invested $28.1 million in 83 projects across 289 Appalachian counties. The $12 million package for FY2022 is projected to improve nearly 450 businesses and prepare nearly 3,000 students and workers for new opportunities in the workforce.

ARC is expecting to issue a request for proposals for the next round of INSPIRE grant opportunities in early 2023. Additional information and resources are available at arc.gov/SUD.