LOUISA —
A Louisa drug rehabilitation facility will host a ribbon-cutting and open house on Friday.
Karen’s Place, at 2135 Ky. 1185 in Louisa, is a faith-based rehabilitation facility that uses the program Teen Challenge to help residents. Teen Challenge endeavors to help people become mentally sound, emotionally balanced, socially adjusted, physically well and spiritually alive, according to the facility’s website.
Karen’s Place will host a ribbon-cutting at noon, with an open house from 1 to 5 p.m. Refreshments will be served. Karen’s Place has been open for less than a year, said Nikki Thomas, who is helping with the ceremony.
Community officials and leaders are expected to attend the event, but it is open to all, she said.
Karen’s Place is named after Karen Byrd, who was shot by a 14-year-old drug dealer in Huntington on April 21, 2004, in a drug deal gone bad, according to the website. Her parents, Raymond and Bernadine Byrd, helped start Odyssey, the organization that operates Karen’s Place. Tim Robinson is the executive director of Karen’s Place.
The focus of the organization is to help residents develop a spiritual life that provides inner strength and a foundation for lasting recovery from addiction, according to the website.
Thomas said there are plans in place to expand the 20-bed facility by adding a women and children reunification complex as well as instituting a program where women who are admitted to the facility can also become certified mentors who will hopefully be able to find work counseling those struggling with addiction.
The mentor training program is expected to start by the end of the year, Thomas said.
KATIE BRANDENBURG can be reached at kbrandenburg@dailyindependent.com or (606) 326-2653.
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