By Tom Latek
Kentucky Today
U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell, R-Louisville, announced on Monday the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) will allocate $1,501,532 to Kentucky for the Recovery Housing Program.
The program was created by Sen. McConnell’s Comprehensive Addiction Recovery through Effective Employment and Reentry (CAREER) Act.
In 2018, McConnell and Sixth District Congressman Andy Barr, R-Lexington, introduced the original CAREER Act into the Senate and House of Representatives, respectively, and the legislation was signed into law as part of the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act.
In February, the two introduced the CAREER Act of 2025 to enhance the workforce reentry and recovery housing programs created in the 2018 law. Since becoming law, the CAREER Act has directed nearly $12.5 million to the Commonwealth, helping hundreds of Kentuckians recovering from substance use disorder.
The CAREER Act is designed to address the impact of substance abuse on America’s workforce, connecting individuals recovering from substance use with career services and temporary, stable housing opportunities.
The Recovery Housing Program, established within this legislation, is a transitional housing pilot program to help states increase access to safe transitional housing for individuals in addiction recovery while they rehabilitate and reenter the workforce.
“Our nation’s substance abuse epidemic has claimed countless lives in communities across the Commonwealth,” McConnell said. “The CAREER Act is a crucial tool in our fight to end this crisis, targeting resources into lifesaving organizations that support Kentuckians’ recovery and their reentry into the workforce. I’ve been proud to champion CAREER Act funding over the years, and support these organizations’ heroic efforts as they help Kentuckians break free from addiction.”
HUD will allocate this funding to the state of Kentucky’s Department of Local Government, which will then select specific funding recipients. In past years, these federal funds have gone toward building out capacity and access to effective recovery housing across the state.