Kentucky River Foothills Development Council Inc

Programs: Community service programs-at each of the agency's four outreach offices, staff work with families in financial crises to help meet immediate needs and make plans for the future so that similar crises are less likely. Krfdc provides energy assistance through the low income home energy assistance program (liheap) every fall/winter at its outreach offices. Liheap assists income-eligible households with home heating costs through two programs: liheap subsidy (typically in november and december) and liheap crisis (typically january until the middle of march, or until all funds are expended). A third component to help with summer cooling costs may be offered when funds are available. Last fy krfdc provided 3,896 households with subsidy assistance and 4,209 households with crisis assistance. Krfdc provides free weatherization services to income-eligible families and individuals. This program works to reduce their heating/cooling costs and improve the safety of their homes by providing energy efficiency measures. On average, weatherization reduces energy bills by 32%. Last fy krfdc weatherized/repaired 56 homes.

health & human services programs-the agency's head start program helps economically disadvantaged children from birth to 5 years old develop educational and social skills. Family members are encouraged to be involved in activities and educational experiences that will help foster a lifetime of commitment to quality education. In collaboration with the county school systems, head start promotes school readiness by enhancing the social and cognitive development of children through the provision of educational, health, nutritional, social and other services to enrolled children and families. Also, partnerships are developed with community agencies to provide additional services and resources to parents and children. Head start works to meet each child's individual needs. Since 2005, krfdc has been providing a wide array of health care and related services to estill and powell counties through the healthcare for the homeless program, which takes medical care out of the traditional hospital-based setting and brings it to a population in need of health services. In 2011, the health & wellness center opened in clay city to serve the needs of powell county. This 3,000 square foot facility features four exam rooms. Services include exams, immunizations, medications, and referrals. Persons must be homeless to receive care through the hch program. The program utilizes a sliding fee scale and assists patients with payment plans. The clinic also accepts medicare and medicaid and most private insurances. Last fy krfdc provided assistance to 2,196 participants and had 11,404 encounters. Krfdc operates a supportive services for veteran families (ssvf) grant to financially assist veterans in central and southeastern kentucky with housing stability. The ssvf project provides financial and supportive service assistance to veterans and their families to help them overcome housing barriers. All forms of payment made by ssvf go directly to the landlord, utility company or third-party vendor on behalf of the veteran. Financial assistance will not have to be repaid. Last fy krfdc provides prevention assistance to 133 households and 301 individuals; they provided homeless assistance to 96 households and 197 individuals.

housing service progrms-at liberty place recovery center for women, the agency provides a long-term, residential substance abuse recovery program for women. In this safe place, krfdc helps women suffering from alcoholism and/or drug addiction become sober, solve underlying problems, and learn to lead sober, stable, and productive lives. While in the program, participants are provided with the tools they need to manage their disease and rebuild their lives. These tools include the 12 steps of alcoholics anonymous, daily recovery dynamics and errors in thinking classes, meditation, peer support, job responsibilities, and meetings. Located in richmond, liberty place is part of the recovery kentucky initiative. The women participating in the program are homeless or marginally housed and unemployed, often coming directly from court or jail. The center, a supportive housing development, has 108 beds to accommodate the needs of women in kentucky's 6th congressional district. Last fy krfdc served 342 participants at liberty place. The agency's affordable housing program assists low and moderate-income households through homebuyer education classes and one-on-one homeownership counseling to purchase homes. Krfdc uses grant funds to provide assistance and the family secures a very low interest loan to cover the remaining cost. Persons living at or below a certain percentage of the median income, including homeless persons who are graduates of krfdc's supportive housing program are eligible to apply for the program. Homeownership counseling is a free service offered in estill and powell counties. This service is provided for first time homebuyers with low to moderate incomes and educates participants in every aspect of the home buying process. For families who own their homes, but need help maintaining them, krfdc offers a variety of rehabilitation services which reduce a family's heating and cooling costs while increasing their comfort. And for those families who have no home at all, krfdc offers rental assistance programs such as supportive housing, transitional housing and emergency rental assistance. To help families achieve or regain stability, staff provide counseling, budgeting, and crisis assistance according to the clients' needs. The agency manages a limited number of agency-owned rental units in estill, madison, and powell counties.