A group of Owensboro and Daviess County leaders will travel to Northern Kentucky next week to study a nationally recognized model aimed at helping people recover from substance use, rebuild their lives, and find stable employment.
The Owensboro-Daviess County Drug Free Alliance Steering Committee has organized a chartered trip to the Life Learning Center in Covington on April 13, with Daviess County Judge-Executive Charlie Castlen and steering committee chair Rosemary Conder helping coordinate the visit. Organizers said the visit is being positioned as a hands-on opportunity for community leaders to examine evidence-based approaches as local officials consider future uses of opioid settlement funds.
Castlen said the idea for the trip grew out of a visit he made in September 2023 during a retreat for Kentucky judge-executives.
“One of the places we spent about a half day at was the Life Learning Center, and it was awesome,” Castlen said. “I was very impressed with what they were doing.”
Castlen said the center stood out because it serves as a hub that helps connect people to the right type of support, whether that involves recovery services, behavioral health care, job preparation, or referrals elsewhere.
“One of the things that really impressed me is that they screen people to see whether they’re a fit for the programs they have,” Castlen said. “They track their data, and they’ve already got a model that’s thriving, not just working.”
He said he came away from that earlier visit believing Owensboro-Daviess County could learn from the approach, especially because of how the center works alongside other organizations rather than in isolation.
“I’m hoping the people that we put together on the bus will be as excited as I was,” Castlen said. “I’d love for us to come together and replicate it.”
Conder said the trip also reflects a broader effort to give new direction to the Owensboro-Daviess County Drug Free Alliance Steering Committee, which was formed more than 20 years ago after drug-related deaths prompted local leaders to bring together stakeholders from health care, law enforcement, mental health, and recovery services.
Over the years, she said, the committee has continued meeting, but members have also wrestled with what role it should play in shaping the community’s response to substance misuse.
“When I took the chairmanship of the committee, one of the things I really hoped was that we could work more closely with ASAP and do more together,” Conder said, referring to the state-mandated local agency that also addresses substance abuse issues.
Conder said the alliance later recommended that city and county leaders fund a community study through the Carlton Hall group to examine local gaps in services and resources. She said that remains the only opioid settlement money spent so far by the city and county.
Still, Conder said she believes that patience could ultimately benefit the community if the remaining funds are used strategically.
“At least we have this nice little nest egg of money that could really move the needle for our community if it’s used in a way that’s impactful and long term,” Conder said.
She said renewed conversation about the Life Learning Center picked up after discussions with regional leaders about the Anchor Project in the Barren River region, which includes the Life Learning Center model as one component of its broader approach to mental health and substance use services. The BRADD Planning site describes the Anchor Project as an initiative focused on strengthening mental health and substance use crisis response services in that region.
That led local leaders back to the Covington model and ultimately to the April 13 trip.
“So in all of that, we decided to take a tour group and go visit the Life Learning Center, because it was really recommended that we do that, meet with them, see their processes, and kind of get ideas for how we can adapt that back to Daviess County,” Conder said.
Castlen said one of the biggest goals is to get a wide range of local voices in the same room so they can begin thinking together about what a coordinated local response could look like.
“That’s what I’m hopeful for,” Castlen said. “By having different players on that bus and in that room, they’ll ask questions and be able to see firsthand how their own work might fit into a model like that.”
Conder said about 60 people were invited to take part in the daylong trip, though she acknowledged it can be difficult for community leaders to step away for an entire day. Even so, she said several participants had already committed.
She said the trip should be viewed as a learning opportunity, not just a tour.
“I think it’ll be a factor in some of the decisions that are made,” Conder said. “Looking at their model of service, treatment, and support, and then also looking at what other regions are building, can help us think about what might work here.”
For Castlen, the visit represents a chance to move beyond conversation and toward a more unified local strategy.
“I think it’s something our community needs,” he said. “When I was there, I don’t know the last time I was ever in a place where I felt so pumped up and hopeful about what people were doing.”
