Senator McConnell and Congressman Barr created this program through the CAREER Act and supported its funding through the appropriations process.
Washington, D.C.— U.S. Congressman Andy Barr (KY-06) and U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) announced today the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) will allocate $1,461,639 to Kentucky for the Recovery Housing Program. This transitional housing pilot program was established under the Comprehensive Addiction Recovery through Effective Employment and Reentry (CAREER) Act, which was introduced in the Senate and House of Representatives by Senator McConnell and Congressman Barr, respectively. The CAREER Act was signed into law in 2018 as part of the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act.
The CAREER Act, designed to address the devastating impact of substance abuse on America’s workforce, helps connect individuals recovering from addiction with career services and stable housing opportunities. This recovery housing funding will go to nonprofits to help provide safe, temporary housing to individuals in addiction recovery while they rehabilitate and reenter the workforce.
HUD will allocate the funding announced today to the state of Kentucky, which will then select specific funding recipients.
“It is a top priority of mine to enhance resources in the Commonwealth to deal with the ongoing opioid epidemic. The pandemic set our country back on the fight against addiction, and in 2021, overdose deaths topped 100,000 for the first time. That’s why this funding which will be allocated to addiction providers through the CAREER Act, that Leader McConnell and I championed to enactment in 2018, is so essential,” said Congressman Barr.
“Congressman Barr and I crafted the CAREER Act to mitigate the impact of addiction on both individuals in recovery and the Kentucky economy,” said Senator McConnell. “Addiction and the overdose epidemic continue to wreak havoc on the lives of everyday Kentuckians across the state. Unfortunately, Kentucky remains at the epicenter of the drug overdose epidemic. That’s why I am proud to work with Congressman Barr to create and secure federal funding for programs like the Recovery Housing Program, which are vital to those battling addiction and supporting their successful reentry into society.”
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