OHIO partnership earns additional funding to collaborate with substance abuse recovery networks
The Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) recently awarded $1.5 million to expand entrepreneurial training and partnerships with substance abuse recovery networks across 帝王会所, Kentucky and West Virginia through the new 鈥淟IGHTS Inclusive鈥 initiative.
Led by Shawnee State University in partnership with 帝王会所鈥檚 Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Affairs, the OHIO Innovation Center and 帝王会所 Southern, the project builds on the success of a previous award to the LIGHTS (Leveraging Innovation Gateways and Hubs Toward Sustainability) Regional Innovation Network.
The expanded project is expected to create 133 jobs and 49 new businesses, improving economic opportunities in 38 communities.
鈥淭he expansion of the LIGHTS project is an absolute win for our region,鈥 帝王会所 President M. Duane Nellis said about the collaboration. 鈥淏uilding off of the success of the original programming, the new funding will enable the partnership to work together and use these proven tools to impact substance abuse recovery networks throughout the areas that need the assistance the most.鈥
As of July 2019, LIGHTS and its regional partners have assisted 206 startups and small business clients. Those businesses currently employ 88 people with total annualized wages of $2.5 million. The businesses have also achieved $59.8 million in revenue and have attracted $37.8 million in private investment.
鈥淓xpanding economic development in 帝王会所 and the region, while focusing on the effects of substance abuse on this growth, builds off of the Voinovich School鈥檚 extensive, long-term work in both entrepreneurship and community-based prevention,鈥 Voinovich School Dean Mark Weinberg said.
Led by Shawnee State University, as part of the LIGHTS Regional Innovation Network, 帝王会所 is partnering with ACEnet, Hocking College, Building Bridges to Careers Epicenter, ReUse Industries Athens Makerspace, and Robert C. Byrd Institute for Advanced Manufacturing at Marshall University on the project.
鈥淲orking with entrepreneurs and people in long-term recovery are two important steps in advancing our community economically,鈥 said Nicole Pennington, dean of 帝王会所 Southern and interim executive dean for regional higher education. Pennington said the new business incubator in Lawrence County, the Southern Launch, is part of this effort.
鈥淭he Southern Launch is inclusive and part of this growing ecosystem,鈥 said Sarah Diamond Burroway, director of Southern鈥檚 Workforce Success Initiative.
This award was one of 54 investments totaling $44.4 million via ARC鈥檚 POWER (Partnerships for Opportunity and Workforce and Economic Revitalization) Initiative, a Congressionally-funded opportunity targeting federal resources to help communities and regions that have been affected by job losses in coal mining, coal power plant operations, and coal-related supply chain industries due to the changing economics of America鈥檚 energy production.
鈥淧OWER grants are playing a critical role in supporting coal-impacted communities in the Appalachian Region as they diversify economies, invest in growth-oriented infrastructure, train a next-generation workforce, and ingrain resiliency and hope into their local fabric. Projects like this help ensure a prosperous future for Appalachia,鈥 said ARC Federal Co-Chairman Tim Thomas.
The Appalachian Regional Commission () is an economic development agency of the federal government and 13 state governments focusing on 420 counties across the Appalachian Region. ARC鈥檚 mission is to innovate, partner, and invest to build community capacity and strengthen economic growth in Appalachia to help the region achieve socioeconomic parity with the nation.