Jackson County fiscal court backs plan to pursue opioid-abatement funding for reentry kitchen program

Judge opened a presentation to the Jackson County Fiscal Court on Project Restart, a reentry program that provides employment referrals, housing help and wraparound services for people leaving jail. Ruth Forsyth Moore and resource coordinator Sheila Parrott described plans to use the county'owned regional food center (the idle commercial kitchen next to the farmers market) for supervised, second-chance employment and training.

Ruth Forsyth Moore said Project Restart began in 2022 through the Jackson County Community Foundation and expanded in 2024 to add a resource coordinator and new nonprofit and church partners. She said the program serves people with substance use disorders and that ''most'' of Project Restart clients qualify for opioid-abatement supports. Moore said the group has applied for a $20,000 Foundation for Appalachian Kentucky grant to help sustain wraparound services and expects to present a business plan to state officials before spending abatement dollars.

Judge and other court members described the county kitchen''s existing industrial equipment and said minimal building repairs (plumbing and heating/thermostat work) are likely. Ruth said the state contact in Frankfort (Jessica Kennedy) told them counties frequently pass abatement funds through to local nonprofits rather than spending directly; Project Restart seeks the court's permission to use county property and pursue state approval for the plan so that, if the state approves the business plan, the program can access allowable opioid-abatement dollars.

Sheila Parrott detailed operations: she would supervise a small caseload of participants (perhaps two or three for on-site food production), screen candidates per the fund's eligibility rules, and provide wraparound casework. The presenters said some products could be sold at the adjacent farmers market to teach entrepreneurship and create revenue. Multiple court members expressed support; Ruth confirmed the program would not begin spending until the state approves a submitted business plan.

The fiscal court did not record a detailed vote tally in the transcript of the presentation; court members solicited the motion to move forward with the process and asked staff to return with a formal business plan and any required agreements if the state approves funding. The next procedural step is for Project Restart to complete the business plan and seek the state's sign-off before any opioid-abatement funds are committed.