When Brandy Snowden was released from jail in September 2025, she was stepping into the unknown. She knew she wanted something different, but she lacked the tools, direction, and support to know how to get there until she connected with EKCEP’s SITE program.
Shortly after her release, Brandy connected with Jeremy Lewis, a Job Entry and Retention Support Specialist (JERSS) with EKCEP and working in partnership with Lake Cumberland Recovery in Pulaski County. At the time, she had no financial resources, no employment pathway, and very little support.
“I came to this program and I didn’t know what I was going to do,” she said. “I knew what I wanted to do, but I didn’t know how I was going to be able to do it.”
Through SITE, Brandy began working with Lewis to build a realistic plan forward. The program is designed to help individuals in recovery reconnect with work by addressing the barriers that often stand in the way after reentry, including lack of resources, training, and support. With individualized guidance, skills training, and financial assistance, Brandy earned a Customer Support Specialist certificate and then continued on to complete her Peer Support Specialist credential, opening the door to stable employment and a long-term career path.
“I couldn’t have done that without this program,” she added. “There’s no way I could have done that on my own.”
Brandy earned her peer support license on December 1 and began working days later at Lake Cumberland Recovery. Today, she is employed as a peer support specialist, serving individuals who are facing many of the same struggles she once experienced. Drawing from her own recovery and reentry journey, she helps clients who are coming off the streets begin to rebuild stability, confidence, and hope. She supports them through some of their most vulnerable moments, showing by example that change is possible and that a future in recovery and employment is within reach.
Along the way, Brandy also learned something entirely new: how to set goals and work toward them. For the first time in her life, she began identifying concrete steps forward and following through on them. With additional support from SITE, she is now continuing her professional development and plans to pursue a Certified Substance Abuse Counselor credential, which would expand her training beyond peer support into mental health and substance use services. This next step would move her closer to her long-term goal of becoming a case manager and building a lasting career in the recovery field.
“Every step I take is going to be for another ultimate goal,” she said.
Steady employment and a sense of purpose have also brought stability to other areas of Brandy’s life. She speaks openly about the importance of having a reason to keep moving forward. The progress she has made has reinforced that sustained recovery and reentry are possible when people are given the right support at the right time.
Brandy is clear that this transformation would not have happened without the support system built through EKCEP’s SITE program and Lake Cumberland Recovery, a partnership which provided consistent guidance, encouragement, and financial assistance.
“Without a support system, I would have never made it where I’m at today,” she said. “It felt good to have somebody believe in me and tell me that yes, I can do this because I’ve never had that support system before.”
To learn more about EKCEP’s Recovery & Reentry services, visit ekcep.org.
EKCEP, a nonprofit workforce development agency headquartered in Hazard, Ky., serves the citizens of 23 Appalachian coalfield counties. EKCEP is funded by the federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, along with various federal and state grants and private donations, and is a proud partner in the American Job Center network. Learn more at ekcep.org.
The Strategic Initiative for Transformational Employment (SITE) is funded in part by the Kentucky Opioid Response Effort (KORE) through a grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), and the Kentucky Office for Drug Control Policy.