When Glen Turner, Jr. arrived at Lake Cumberland Recovery in Pulaski County, he was searching for stability after years of addiction. What followed was the beginning of a steady shift toward recovery, support, and a path back to work through EKCEP’s SITE program.
“I came to Lake Cumberland Recovery in August of 2024, and this place helped save my life,” Turner said.
While participating in treatment, Glen connected with Jeremy Lewis, a Job Entry and Retention Support Specialist with EKCEP. Lewis introduced him to the agency’s SITE program, short for Strategic Initiative for Transformational Employment. Lewis helped him look beyond immediate recovery and consider how employment could play a role in his future. As part of EKCEP’s Recovery & Reentry division, SITE serves more than 50 counties across the Commonwealth to help people move toward sustainable employment and long-term stability.
For Glen, that opportunity came at exactly the right time.
“I wasted a lot of my life on alcoholism and drug addiction,” he said. “And I didn’t want my past to define my future.”
With Lewis’s support, Glen began setting goals and building skills. Lewis helped him access basic necessities, enroll in a financial literacy course, and pursue professional training. What started as a simple introduction to services quickly became a turning point.
Through SITE’s guidance and encouragement, Glen earned his Certified Peer Support Specialist credential and began working in the field, using his lived experience to support others who are walking the same road he once traveled. He is now continuing his education and preparing for additional certifications to expand his ability to help others in the recovery field.
Growth no longer feels out of reach, Turner added. At one time, he described himself as “unemployable.” Today, he sees something very different.
“I feel like I’m an asset to society today instead of a menace to it,” he said. “That makes me real, real grateful and proud of myself.”
Glen’s journey reflects what SITE works to provide every day, which is not just job placement, but the tools, support, and encouragement people need to rebuild their lives. For him, employment has become more than a paycheck. It represents dignity, purpose, and the chance to give back.
“My greatest weakness, which was alcoholism and drug addiction, is now my greatest strength to give back and to help somebody else get out of the mess that I was in,” he said.
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 Overdose Response Effort (KORE) through a grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), and the Kentucky Office for Drug Control Policy.