Lifeline breaks ground for new women’s campus
November 11, 2024
Lifeline Recovery Center broke ground today for a new 45-acre women’s campus in McCracken County near Barkley Regional Airport. Construction at 8650 Old Highway 60 will begin immediately and is expected to be completed in 18-24 months, increasing our client capacity by 40%.
The new campus is being funded by “A Campaign for Recovery: Breaking the Cycle of Addiction, One Life at a Time,” which has raised $11.6 million, or 89 percent of its $13 million goal. The campaign began quietly in 2023 and is expected to conclude in 2026.
Funds from the campaign will go toward separate campuses for women and men. The women’s campus will include a new chapel, housing, dining, educational, counseling and administrative space. The 45-acre men’s campus in Ballard County, acquired two years ago, was already outfitted with those buildings when purchased.
Board chair Steve Powless offered a prayer of dedication as fellow board members and Lifeline leaders turned the symbolic dirt. “Help us continue to be a LIFELINE for those seeking a life free from addiction,” he said.
He praised the vision of Lifeline founders 20 years ago. “We are grateful to everyone who helped us get to this moment – the staff, the volunteers, the donors, the board of directors and everyone who has prayed and offered encouragement, who has hired Lifeline graduates and who has lifted up Lifeline in any way.”
Powless, board chair for four years, added, “This is not just Lifeline’s moment. This is your moment.”
Executive director Ashley Miller, herself a 2014 graduate of Lifeline, said it is gratifying to see Lifeline growing with community support. “Lifeline changed my own life, and I am here to walk with others seeking to change theirs,” she said.
The women’s campus currently is on Morgan Lane. When the men’s campus moved from there to Ballard County in 2022, the women’s campus moved from Bloom Avenue to Morgan Lane. When the women’s program moves to its new campus, Lifeline will determine the use for facilities on Morgan Lane, with possibilities ranging from sober living quarters for men to outpatient services.
Powless said both the men’s and women’s new campuses offer room for future expansion. “Our creativity has been limited only by the lack of space,” he said, “and now that will no longer be a problem.”
Lifeline, celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, has served more than 2,500 people. That number will increase with the additional space. Also, programming and staffing is expanding with funding from the campaign.
Campaign gifts can include cash, outright or pledged over three years; gifts of stock; planned gifts such as life insurance policies or annuities; or qualified charitable distributions for people over 70 donating directly from a taxable IRA. Campaign gifts can be made at LifelineRecoveryCenter.org.
