WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Appalachian Regional Commission awarded $11 million Tuesday to 32 projects through its Investments Supporting Partnerships in Recovery Ecosystems (INSPIRE) Initiative, which aims to address workforce gaps and economic challenges due to the impact of substance use disorder in Appalachia.
“In order to have a healthy Appalachian economy, we must make sure we have a healthy Appalachian workforce,” ARC Federal Co-Chair Gayle Manchin said. “I am so proud of the way ARC’s INSPIRE initiative ecosystem empowers Appalachians in substance use disorder recovery to gain the training, resources and support they need to enter or re-enter the workforce while also becoming productive members of their families and communities.”
The grants will fund projects in Georgia, Kentucky, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia.
Projects in Kentucky, Virginia and West Virginia include:
KENTUCKY
Project Title: Horizon’s Workforce & Recovery Network
Grantee: Kentucky Rural Health Information Technology Network, Inc.
Award Amount: $500,000
Project Summary: ARC grant of $500,000 to Kentucky Rural Health Information Technology Network, Inc. in Corbin, Kentucky, for the Horizon’s Workforce & Recovery Network project. This project will focus on the Kentucky counties of Knox, Laurel, and Whitley, where the growing prevalence of synthetic opioids continues to drive overdose fatalities and strain local treatment systems. It will integrate structured job training with robust recovery supports and equip individuals in both early and continued recovery with the tools and opportunities needed to thrive in the workforce. In addition to providing evidence-based substance use disorder practices, Horizon will offer peer-led workforce training, vocational and industryspecific job preparation, Recovery Ready Workplace (RRW) engagement, stigma reduction and employer partnerships in key industries such as HVAC, healthcare, and manufacturing. As a result of this project, 20 businesses will be enhanced through RRW engagement, 150 workers/trainees will improve their vocational skills, 100 participants will receive evidence-based SUD wrap-around services, and seven communities will benefit from recovery-to-work programming.
Project Title: From Recovery to Career: Culinary Workforce Development Initiative
Grantee: Hazard Community and Technical College
Award Amount: $500,000
Project Summary: ARC grant of $500,000 to Hazard Community and Technical College (HCTC) in Hazard, Kentucky, for the From Recovery to Career: Culinary Workforce Development Initiative. In partnership with the Perry County Fiscal Court, HCTC will expand workforce training across the Kentucky counties of Breathitt, Knott, Lee, Leslie, Owsley, Perry, and Wolfe through the development of a culinary training program for students in substance use disorder (SUD) recovery. The Fiscal Court will equip the instructional space, and HCTC will collaborate with regional recovery facilities and workforce partners to enroll students. Participants will complete up to 35 credit hours of flexible, hands-on training to earn a Culinary Arts Certificate, and will gain real-world experience and industry-recognized credentials that will lead to employment in the culinary and hospitality sectors. This investment will strengthen 15 businesses through improved job retention and support 18 students in securing lasting careers.
Project Title: Second Chance Workforce Ecosystem Expansion
Grantee: Dream Coalition dba Thrive Community Coalition
Award Amount: $500,000
Project Summary: ARC grant of $500,000 to the Dream Coalition dba Thrive Community Coalition in Inez, Kentucky, for the Second Chance Workforce Ecosystem Expansion project. In partnership with workforce development partners, regional employers and local treatment and recovery centers, the Thrive Coalition will enhance the recovery ecosystem in Floyd, Johnson, Martin, and Pike counties through expansion of workforce training and employment opportunities for those in recovery and improve training and technical assistance for local employers to become recovery-friendly workplaces. The project will create a recovery-friendly workforce ecosystem that benefits both individuals and businesses, by improving 90 workers/trainees and 15 businesses.
Project Title: Pathways to Careers
Grantee: Pathways, Inc.
Award Amount: $500,000
Project Summary: ARC grant of $500,000 to Pathways, Inc. in Ashland, Kentucky, for the Pathways to Careers project. This program will strengthen connections in 10 counties, between workforce development organizations, training providers, recovery services and businesses to assist individuals in recovery to gain meaningful employment. Pathways will partner with the Ashland Community and Technical College, Maysville Community and Technical College, and the Bluegrass Community and Technical College to provide soft skills training, short-term trade training and college courses to the 10-county service area of northeastern Kentucky. Additionally, local chambers of commerce will provide employers with training and information about becoming a Fair Chance employer, and the Tri-County Kentucky Agency for Substance Abuse Policy will identify individuals in recovery to participate in the program. It is anticipated that 355 workers and 125 students will be served by the project by enrolling in training/education programs and receiving employment supports. Approximately 120 participants are expected to attend employment fairs, and 60 businesses will receive Fair Chance training and information.
Project Title: Ground Up Coffee Project: Northeastern Kentucky Recovery Enterprise
Planning
Grantee: Fresh Start Health Foundation, Inc.
Award Amount: $100,000
Project Summary: ARC grant of $100,000 to Fresh Start Health Foundation, Inc. (FSHF) in Ashland, Kentucky, for the Ground Up Coffee Project: Northeastern Kentucky Recovery Enterprise Planning project. FSHF will develop a framework for a recovery-focused revenue-generating business project serving Boyd, Carter, Lewis, and Rowan counties in Kentucky. During the planning period, the initiative will evaluate optimal operational models, strategic location options and effective business approaches for a coffee-based revenue-generating business project. As a result of this project, a series of five reports will be developed, including a feasibility study and market analysis to assess Fresh Start’s impact on workforce collaboration; a comprehensive long-term business plan; a workforce training curriculum for recovery-friendly employment; a performance measurement framework with identified funding sources; and an implementation action plan incorporating stakeholder engagement and research findings.
VIRGINIA
Project Title: Project SOAR
Grantee: Mountain Empire Community College
Award Amount: $491,548
Project Summary: ARC grant of $491,548 to Mountain Empire Community College in Big Stone Gap, Virginia, for Project SOAR . The project will expand workforce training and wraparound recovery services for individuals impacted by substance use disorder in Lee, Scott, Wise, and Dickenson counties, as well as the city of Norton. The project will deliver training in high-demand skilled trades such as carpentry, electrical, plumbing, and welding, alongside legal assistance, housing support, transportation, and career counseling. Services will also reach individuals in correctional settings through newly established regional training hubs. It is anticipated that 70 individuals in recovery will be improved through participation in training and recovery support services; 70 workers/trainees will be credentialed, employed, or demonstrate skills improvement; 12 businesses will be improved through recovery-to-work efforts; and at least nine new part-time jobs will be created.
Project Title: Hope Stage 2
Grantee: Appalachian Center for Hope
Award Amount: $100,000
Project Summary: ARC grant of $100,000 to the Appalachian Center for Hope (ACH) in Blacksburg, Virginia, for the Hope Stage 2 planning project. This project will enable the Appalachian Center for Hope and community partners to embark on a 12-month intensive planning process to determine service and resource gaps in the substance use disorder (SUD) support community in Smyth County. It will also identify viable funding sources to expand services and outline concrete actions ACH can take to overcome the stigma-related obstacles that have impeded previous project achievement. The project is expected to result in one plan/report.
WEST VIRGINIA
Project Title: Bridging the Gap: Innovation Transportation Network
Grantee: Recovery Point West Virginia
Award Amount: $500,000
Project Summary: ARC grant of $500,000 to Recovery Point West Virginia in Huntington, West Virginia, for the Bridging the Gap: Innovation Transportation Network project. This project will build a statewide coalition of recovery support service providers, who provide non-emergency medical and workforce development transportation services. This project will aim to integrate SUD recovery initiatives into broader health and economic development plans at the state and community levels and support the provision of peer-driven wraparound services across 12 West Virginia counties. In addition, this program will respond to the service gaps in behavioral health access and transportation, training and employment transportation, and rural job opportunity support and wraparound services by leasing vehicles and hiring staff to expand non-emergency medical and workforce development transportation services to rural Appalachian communities. It is anticipated that 100 businesses, 76 workers, 12 communities, and 400 participants will be served/improved as a result of this project.
Project Title: Recovering Together: A Community Outreach Expansion &
Employment Project to Combat Substance Abuse in Three Appalachian States
Grantee: West Virginia Drug Intervention Institute
Award Amount: $498,880
Project Summary: ARC grant of $498,880 to West Virginia Drug Intervention Institute in Charleston, West Virginia, for the Recovering Together: A Community Outreach Expansion & Employment Project to Combat Substance Abuse in Three Appalachian States project. Focused on 21 counties across West Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee, this project will employ individuals in recovery, aged 18 and older, to serve as outreach coordinators. These individuals will receive job skills training and employment services, distribute emergency opioid response kits to communities, and conduct outreach to decrease stigma and increase community resources needed to address substance use disorder. They will work in tandem with law enforcement and other local partners to educate community members about overdose prevention and treatment, and recovery resources. It is anticipated that 21 communities, 10 workers/trainees, 50 participants, and 400 businesses will be served/improved, and one report will be completed as a result of this project.
Project Title: Eastern Panhandle Center for Workforce Recovery Solutions
Grantee: Blue Ridge Community and Technical College
Award Amount: $480,928
Project Summary: ARC grant of $480,928 to Blue Ridge Community and Technical College (BRCTC) in Martinsburg, West Virginia, for the Eastern Panhandle Center for Workforce Recovery Solutions project. Focusing on Berkeley, Jefferson, and Morgan counties, the project will integrate recovery-informed training pathways with employer engagement and wraparound services to address key barriers to maintaining employment. BRCTC will provide advanced skills training aligned with in-demand occupations and expand a regional workforce resource and training hub to support the eastern panhandle’s recovery-to-work ecosystem. As a key connector among employers, economic development agencies, and workforce partners, BRCTC will also implement the Recovery-to-Work Employer Leadership Academy (ELA), an eight-hour training that equips employers, HR professionals, and supervisors with tools to effectively recruit, support, and retain employees in recovery. It is anticipated that 30 students will attain industry-aligned credentials or certificates, and 15 businesses will be improved through participation in the ELA.
Project Title: Calhoun RISE (Recovery, Integration, and Sustainable Employment)
Grantee: The EdVenture Group, Inc.
Award Amount: $469,893
Project Summary: ARC grant of $469,893 to The EdVenture Group, Inc. in Morgantown, West Virginia, for the Calhoun RISE (Recovery, Integration, and Sustainable Employment) project. In partnership with other recovery-to-work ecosystem partners, local employers, local governments, and the justice and public health systems, this project will help build a recovery ecosystem in economically distressed and recovery underserved Calhoun County by providing essential recovery support services and educational and workforce training opportunities to residents affected by SUD so they can successfully enter or reenter the workforce. The project is expected to serve 10 businesses, 33 workers/trainees and 100
community member participants.
Project Title: SERVE: Skills Development, Empowerment, Recovery Support,
Vocational training, and Economic
Grantee: West Virginia Ministry of Advocacy and Workcamps, Inc.
Award Amount: $62,554
Project Summary: ARC grant of $62,554 to West Virginia Ministry of Advocacy and Workcamps, Inc. (WVMAW) in Oak Hill, West Virginia, for the SERVE project. This project will initiate a planning process with focus on program design, partnership development, and feasibility research to. ensure the successful implementation of a long-term workforce entry and re-entry program focusing on the West Virginia counties of Fayette, Kanawha, Mason, Nicholas, Raleigh, and Webster. The project will contribute to the long-term development of a recovery-to-work program which will provide residents in substance use disorder (SUD) recovery access to vocational training and employment opportunities to become financially independent and actively contribute to their communities. The project is expected to create three plans/reports via a feasibility study, strategic plan, and a SUD focused training model.
