LIFE LEARNING CENTER INC
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Mission Statement
Life Learning Center was established as a 501(c)3 with a mission to deliver an innovative holistic, integrated continuum of education and care to assist individuals overcome these challenges and barriers and allow them to step up to their highest potential. Our vision is to build a caring and serving community by helping people learn, secure, and sustain a better way of living through gainful employment.
About This Cause
For nearly 20 years, Life Learning Center (LLC) has been a critical resource in the Northern Kentucky/Greater Cincinnati region. Through years of continuous improvement, LLC has recognized key insights including that substance use disorder treatment must be coupled with adequate aftercare; individuals must be ready for change and must commit to their educational development to be successful; community collaboration is tantamount to success in adequate delivery of wrap-around care; it is not enough to improve internal systems and service delivery - regional policies and employer infrastructure must also be influenced. In 2005, several enthusiastic leaders from the Northern Kentucky/Greater Cincinnati region collaborated to establish Life Learning Center. While they observed a myriad of reputable organizations contribute their niched services to one specific social issue, it became evident that no single agency or individual location was addressing the broad and multi-faceted barriers faced by those in the at-risk population. Adding additional complexity to service delivery, those niched service providers were widespread and not located on or near public transportation. Through this investigative process, barriers to success and recovery were identified including lack of fluidity in treatment pathways and providers; lack of cooperative and collective service delivery in a central and accessible location; lack of educational foundation due to economic disparity; lack of financial resources and financial training; lack of proper mental health care and general health care parities associated with being an underserved population. Additionally, these individuals had under-developed job/professional skills preventing them from obtaining and sustaining a living wage career. Most individuals seeking assistance experienced generational poverty and criminal histories due to mental health/substance use disorder that effected both housing and employability. In 2010, LLC established the Foundations for a Better Life Curriculum and launched the first 12-week transformational program. Focusing on five key domains of life, physical, financial, spiritual, emotional, and relational, the program helps Candidates build a new foundation. Enrollees in the program undergo a thorough interview that evaluates their knowledge base and determines their eligibility. Over eighty data points are collected to better understand the individual’s needs for education and care. By triaging Candidates’ fundamental needs, Candidates have the opportunity and environment to focus on their higher-level needs, supporting their educational success. Before, during, and after the 12-week program, Candidates access a plethora of Care Continuum services to mitigate barriers. Following completion of the transformational skills program, Candidates who commit to a substance-free lifestyle, and secure full-time employment, become “Members.” This status grants access to LLC’s facility and its full scope of services in perpetuity. To meet a growing need for services and resources, in 2014, LLC moved to a new facility, gaining nearly 55,000 square feet. The current space boasts two fully furnished floors including a fully functioning kitchen (the Pillars Café), fitness gym, clothing closet, childcare center, technology lab, 6 classrooms, and office space for residential partners. Due to the expansion of space and community resources, LLC can serve more individuals and families, while extending services tailored specifically toward the need of the client. Today, there are nearly 20 “Residential Partners” collocated within the Life Learning Center walls. This targeted compilation of community and service providers deliver programming within one centralized location. Examples of Residential Partners include: Gateway Community and Technical College (assistance in obtaining a GED); Tattoo Removal, Ink (free removal of gang and/or sex trafficking tattoos); Northern Kentucky Community Action Commission (NKCAC) (financial counseling, financial assistance with utilities, a Fatherhood program, weatherization assistance, and insurance sign up assistance); Kenton County Quick Response Team (QRT) (on-site community policing presence for intervention with harm reduction, wellness checks and community education); Nurse Advocacy Center for the Underserved (preventative health assistance including smoking cessation and vaccinations); Eastern Kentucky Concentrated Employment Program (EKCEP) (additional assistance in removing barriers to employment). LLC has an established referral network of over 130 community partners who offer additional services and support. By engaging with community partners in these ways, LLC connects individuals with the resources they need during this period of transition and recovery in their lives. Continuing to expand partnerships in the region, in 2018, LLC collaborated with the Kenton County Detention Center’s Jail Substance Abuse Program (JSAP) through the COR-12 Treatment and Reentry Program to provide managed re-entry and aftercare services in combination with medically assisted treatment (if desired). Services provided by LLC include the Foundations for a Better Life program, case management to help participants step up to their highest potential. They also receive wrap-around support from LLC and agency partners, scholarships for re-entry housing, transportation, clothing, snacks, appointment and referral coordination, employment training and childcare. LLC experienced exponential growth in 2019 through its reentry partnerships with Kenton County Detention Center and the Kenton County Commonwealth’s Attorney Office. In 2020 alongside LLC, these partners created the Multidisciplinary Recovery Reentry Team (MRRT) model to activate communication among reentry stakeholders that provide care interventions and resources to individuals released from incarceration. This multi-faceted approach avoids the need to modify drug treatment court orders, reduces sanctions and provides rehabilitation through community resources and collaborative care. Stakeholders in the MRRT make appropriate referrals for higher levels of care or to varying service providers; maintaining the best interest of the individual, and communication is transparent and confidential. MRRT has become a community focused initiative supporting systemic change for justice-involved individuals as they access and receive the appropriate level of care. In 2021, Kentucky recognized LLC as one of only eleven Recovery Community Centers (RCC) in the Commonwealth, utilizing grant dollars from the Kentucky Opioid Response Effort (KORE). Recovery Community Centers link individuals in recovery to diverse services, including employment support, mutual aid groups, counseling, and networking with others from the recovery community. LLC’s agile workspace is utilized by five different peer support/mutual aid recovery groups each week. Additionally, the space welcomes more than three outpatient substance use/mental health treatment providers, family reunification meetings, phone distribution partners, Narcan distribution partners, community events and more. The innovative programming at LLC gained the attention of bestselling author, Sam Quinones, known for his chronicles of the opioid crisis in America. Mr. Quinones discussed LLC in his newest book The Least of Us, commending our campus and our contributions to the NKY recovery community. As a result, in 2021 CBS Saturday Morning featured LLC in recognition of our unique approach to reentry, recovery, and rehabilitation. The output of LLC’s rigorous data tracking indicates that in 2022, LLC served nearly 1200 individuals and family members from Northern Kentucky. Demographic analysis of this group indicated that 85% of Candidates had a criminal background, 81% had a history of substance use, 74% had a mental health diagnosis, and 65% reported zero monthly income at program start. At program graduation, 100% were employed or enrolled in post-secondary education. With an average of three individuals per household, graduates are securing and maintaining steady employment and a livable wage that will shift the socio-economic status for the family. Through collaboration with upwards of 170 community and corporate partners, over 14,000 care offerings and resources were deployed. Life Learning Center has conducted thorough research to identify the relationships between poverty, incarceration, recidivism, and employment. According to recent studies, adults in poverty are three times more likely to be arrested than those who are not. Nationally, the average for recidivism is 68% meaning close to three out of four adults who are released from incarceration will return to jail. For October 2021 through December 2022, the total recidivism rate of Life Learning Center graduates was reduced to 8% reflecting a cooperative effort with treatment, community, and employment partners. By taking a proactive approach versus a reactive or sanction-based approach, Life Learning Center is supporting individuals by focusing on four clear, progressive, and measurable outcomes: a) Change, b) Sustainability (lifestyles), c) Dignity (self-esteem), and finally the desire to give back, d) Contribution. The latter, to give back, is oftentimes a Candidate’s first experience of fulfillment. This is how Life Learning Center defines success and truly breaking down barriers.