For those of you who have asked who we are and what we do.
To empower people to make positive changes in their lives no matter who they are.
We target four main groups: people with Native American heritage, LBGT, people seeking or wanting to improve their spiritual journey, and people recovering from addiction.
We serve people of all ethnicities and spiritual beliefs. Our program is non-denominational.
A person’s background does not exclude them from this program.
One of the main groups we help is people recovering from addiction, and many of them have a criminal record. They can apply to the program if they are current on any requirements the courts have placed on them.
We help people learn to live a good life while becoming able to function in society. By using ceremony and peer counseling, we help them learn to make better choices and decisions.
We provide a safe environment for people to learn and change without judgment and criticism.
We provide training for people who have successfully completed rehab and want to continue changing but have nowhere to go to accomplish that.
We provide a place for people to come and walk in the woods and reconnect with Mother Earth.
We provide a place for people to participate in spiritual ceremonies.
We provide a place for people to come and get help working through their problems by talking with a peer counselor or elder.
We provide a place for people to learn our ancestors’ art and culture.
We help people find a place to learn marketable skills to earn a full-time income or supplement their income.
Our peer counselors have been through 18 months/180 hours of training on working and helping people work through their issues. They are the backbone of the organizations. We currently have people who have completed the training and an existing group of volunteers who help with additional tasks.
Hope Restored Farms, our Livingston, KY campus, comprises 85+ acres and a building to conduct ceremonies, training, and peer counseling year-round. We also have offices and meeting rooms in Hazard, KY. There are also meetings and peer counselors in Irvington, KY.
The primary funding source is donations and sale of handicrafts or art made by people who undergo art/handicraft training. Also, funding is provided by speaking engagements in local schools and other venues where we teach art, music, and cultural activities.
So far, everything has been self-funded either through donations or through the activities of members of the community.
A small portion of the sale of items made at Hope Restored Farms is used to support the mission.
We are in the process of securing Funding to expand the program, which has been successfully operating in Kentucky for over 20 years.
We provide an avenue for people to live better lives, by learning how to make better choices, building a person’s self-esteem, and providing peer support throughout the process of thinking differently, and therefore living differently. Besides counseling, we provide a safe space for emotions and steps on letting those emotions go (often for good). Finally, culture and art provides the foundation for transformation. Everything that is donated goes to pay expenses of the campus and to continue to build the program.
This organization was not meant to make a profit, and all proceeds are used to pay expenses to expand what we do.
There is no charge for most of our services, except for workshops held several times a year.
