The Allen County Commission is weighing a $25,000 request to keep a part-time peer-support position at the SEK Recovery Resources Coalition’s recovery house in Iola.
April Jackson, Thrive Allen County’s addiction prevention and recovery resources director, requested the funds come from the county’s opioid settlement funds to support the position for one year beginning Oct. 1.
In February, Jackson sought $19,248 to help fund the recovery house and related transportation services for six months.
Commissioners told her to search other funding avenues before they made their decision.
Jackson then secured funding through a grant, which expires at the end of September.
THE RECOVERY house opened in March 2022 and provides housing for up to five men at a time. The abstinence-based, peer-led program offers structured living, recovery support and staff monitoring.
The SEK Recovery Resources Coalition was formed in 2017 and serves Allen, Neosho, Wilson and Woodson counties. It was initially created through a federal Health Resources and Services Administration grant and has operated without dedicated grant funding since September 2024.
Through partnerships with the 31st Judicial District’s Recovery Court program, the coalition provides transportation, peer support and access to treatment services.
During 2025, the house operated at a cost of about $13 per resident per day. Residents typically pay an average of $8.40 per day toward rent, with donations and fundraising covering the remaining cost.
Jackson considers the part-time position an Allen County service because the employee lives in the county and primarily works with Allen County residents.
Ninety-eight percent of the support provided through the position goes to people residing in Allen County.
The Recovery House also accepts residents from surrounding counties, however, and that prompted questions among commissioners about whether Allen County should shoulder the entire cost.
“Our goal is to get them to be productive members while they’re here,” Jackson said. “And then we want them to stay here because they’ve become productive members.”
Troy Smith, Recovery Court director, estimates nine out of 10 Recovery Court participants who have stayed at the house have been Allen County residents. While the program recently housed residents from Neosho and Woodson counties, those stays were relatively short.
The long-term residents who have been most successful at the house have generally been Allen County residents employed locally and paying taxes in the county, Smith said.
COUNTY CLERK Shannon Patterson reported $62,000 remains in the county’s opioid settlement fund. At $25,000 annually, Commission Chairman David Lee noted the county could fund the position for only a little more than two years.
