Jackson Countian Kelly Moore Connects with New Peer Support Job Thanks to eKART

 Kelly Moore knows what it’s like to turn things around and make a new start. It’s not always easy and there can be setbacks, but it’s possible, and that’s a message that others can take from her story, she says.  

 “It’s been a yo-yo for me, on again and off again,” Moore says as she recalls a struggle with addiction that dates back to 2009, when she was charged with a drug-related offense and began what would be a long road to recovery.

“I actually stayed clean for six years, and then I relapsed,” she notes. “I was back into active addiction for several years.”

But it was in 2019 when Moore began working to reclaim her sobriety at Lydia’s House, an Addiction Recovery Care rehabilitation center in Harlan County. She then began an intensive outpatient program in McKee, Ky., where she lives. It was also during this time in McKee that she met Job Entry and Retention Support Specialist Barbara Smith and first learned about Eastern Kentucky Addiction Recovery and Training (eKART).

eKART (Eastern Kentucky Addiction Recovery and Training) is an initiative of Eastern Kentucky Concentrated Employment Program (EKCEP), Inc., that works with local drug courts and other agencies to bridge the gulf between recovery and productive participation in the workforce by providing individuals with valuable career, training, and supportive services, while actively cultivating transformational job opportunities. It aims to help former addicts get back on their feet with job trainings and placements.

Smith met with Moore and others in recovery in McKee to discuss eKART and the services available to help them get into the workforce and onto a career path, including paid work experience, assistance with record expungement, and supportive services. Moore says prior to that meeting, she was unaware there were organizations locally that could provide career services for individuals in recovery.  

Moore already had employment on the radar, though, and through Volunteers of America completed peer support specialist training. As a peer support specialist, Moore can use her own experience to help others in recovery, and in December 2020 was looking for a way to use that training. Volunteers of America referred her to Smith, who helped connect her with a paid work experience at Living Clean, a supportive living house in nearby Manchester. eKART covered Moore’s wages during the 10-week work experience and provided supportive services to assist with transportation and clothing for work. By the end of the work experience, Living Clean offered her a full-time position.

“I love it,” Moore says. “It gives me a chance to give back to what’s been given to me, and that’s a big part of it. I love being able to help. It doesn’t even feel like I’m coming to work.”

Moore has been on the job now for several months, but isn’t resting yet. She’s earned an associate degree and is working toward a bachelor’s degree in education, expecting to graduate in 2022. She hopes to use her experience and education to assist youth in the area.

“I really love peer support,” she says. “I would like to combine the two, and maybe be able to work with kids who are struggling with addiction.”

Moore says working with Smith and eKART has been a positive experience, and she regularly refers individuals to the program who may benefit from employment services. She recommends anyone with an opportunity to work with eKART to take advantage of it.

“It’s a good opportunity,” she says, “it can really help you.”

Learn more about eKART online at ekcep.org/ekart.

EKCEP, a nonprofit workforce development agency headquartered in Hazard, Ky., serves the citizens of 23 Appalachian coalfield counties. The agency provides an array of workforce development services, administers the Hiring Our Miners Everyday (H.O.M.E.) program for dislocated coal miners and their spouses, and is the White House-designated lead organization for the federal TechHire designation for Eastern Kentucky. Learn more about us at http://www.ekcep.org, http://www.jobsight.org and http://www.facebook.com/ekcep.