SITE Helps Beth Visconti with Employment,Meet Goals After Move from Jail to Recovery

When Beth Visconti arrived in Lexington in 2020, she essentially was on her own. Recently released from incarceration on charges related to her substance use issues, she was ready for a new start.

 “I came here with nothing,” says Visconti, a native of Mount Sterling, Ky. “No support system. All I had was a resource to reach out to call and try and take advantage of.”

Beth Visconti

That resource Visconti refers to is Strategic Initiative for Transformational Employment, or SITE, an initiative of the Eastern Kentucky Concentrated Employment Program (EKCEP), Inc. and funded by the Kentucky Opioid Response Effort (KORE). SITE provides valuable career, training, and supportive services while actively cultivating second-chance job opportunities.

For Visconti, SITE would be an important part of her initial recovery after jail. She learned about the program while completing her sentence, and eventually reached out to SITE Job Entry and Retention Support Specialist Terri Hudson. She knew that she needed a change, and hoped SITE would help. 

“I had a lot of fear with it,” Visconti says about her moving to Lexington. “I did not want to do it. I wanted to go back home and do what I’m used to, but I knew from listening to other people that had been successful and got their lives better, I knew that I could not go back to where I came from. If nothing changes, then nothing changes.”

In October Visconti moved into a residence of Oxford House, a non-profit organization providing transitional housing for individuals in recovery. Visconti reached out to Hudson the next day, and since then she says Hudson has played a pivotal role in helping her maintain employment and see the opportunity to plan for a new career and life after active addiction.

In Hudson’s capacity as a SITE support specialist, she makes sure her clients, like Visconti, receive the services needed to be successful in employment. Those services can range from the more typical employment assistance such as résumé development or job interview preparation to more targeted help, including supportive services such as covering transportation costs or funds to purchase clothing for a new job.

In Visconti’s case, Hudson secured funding for those types of services, too, but Visconti says SITE has been a transformational program for her, and Hudson, specifically, has gone the extra mile, including personally taking her shopping for clothes for her job and covering costs for a dental issue. And that extra attention has really made the difference.

“Whenever I got hired, I didn’t have any clothes. I’d just gotten out of jail,” she says. “Terri was like, ‘I can meet you at Target.’ I remember standing outside, nervous, and then I see her. I could instantly tell that she cared. It wasn’t just a job for her.”

“I’ve just never had that guidance or anybody to really teach me those simple things in life, so that was a good experience for me,” she adds. “Those are the extra things that mean so much to me.”

Visconti says she’s doing well since coming to Lexington, and is currently working as a cashier at a Shell station near her residence. Since starting there she has been given additional responsibilities, including writing checks for vendors, helping with reorders, and inventory.

“I just got a dollar raise, which had never happened to me in my life,” she says, beaming.

While she continues to work, Visconti says wants to also look forward and think about a career that makes a difference for others, especially women like herself. On December 1 she completed peer support specialist training and is now certified by the state. That was a big step in her main career goal.

But for the shorter term, Visconti says she wants to begin a job in recovery and be a resource for others suffering from addiction. And she’s already received offers in that field.

“I know a bunch of people in recovery and a lot of people have seen me. They can’t believe I’ve been able to change my life and be successful, so it’s really cool,” she says. “I know I could be a benefit in recovery, and an inspiration for other women.”

As Visconti looks back on the past few months, she says it’s something that she didn’t see for herself a few years ago. In addition to her job, she’s been given additional responsibilities at Oxford House, including her nomination as secretary for the Lexington chapter. She says she’s happy that she reached out to Hudson when she arrived in the city and that SITE has been a valuable resource.

“There’s so many women in the system that don’t have that, so I think what SITE is doing is the type of stuff that’s going to actually change people’s lives,” she says. “I know it’s already changing mine.”

And for anyone else who may be a similar position, Visconti says finding available resources like SITE in the community can make the difference between turning things around or falling back into the same routine. She says building that support network has made all the difference in her own journey.

“It’s so weird,” she says. “It’s like I’m actually proud of myself. I’ve never in my life been proud of myself. I can actually do this. I can work, I can pay bills, I can hold down a job and be responsible. It’s been a real gift for me. I’m really happy with my life right now.”

To learn more about SITE and available services, visit ekcep.org. 

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 and operates the Kentucky Career Center JobSight network of workforce centers, which provide access to more than a dozen state and federal programs that offer employment and training assistance for jobseekers and employers all under one roof. Learn more about us at http://www.ekcep.org, http://www.jobsight.org and http://www.facebook.com/ekcep.