Commissioners approved a legal service agreement between the City of Paducah and Bryant Law Center and Friedman, Dazzio, Zulanas & Bowling for legal representation in the pursuit of damages incurred as a result of the illegal sale, distribution, and marketing of opioids and opioid derivative drugs in Paducah.
This agreement is on the basis that there is no cost to the city. If there are disbursements at the time of a judgement or settlement of a lawsuit, the city will provide legal services payment equal to one-third the total amount recovered.
Before the vote, in the board's effort to continue its information gathering concerning the opioid crisis, they heard a fourth presentation in a series. They first heard from Terrye Peeler, Paducah Lifeline Ministries' executive director. Peeler said Kentucky currently has the third highest overdose rate in the country, with four people in the state overdosing each day.
Paducah Lifeline Ministries is a Christ-centered solution for those battling drug and alcohol addiction. It is a residential and non-residential community-based recovery program for women and men. Peeler says Paducah Lifeline Ministries has a 62 percent success rate withpeople completing the nine month program staying sober or drug free for a year or more.
She said in 2017 they were able to help 82 men and 50 women. Peeler said it was 132 people struggling given an opportunity to change their lives. One hundred eleven people were from counties in Kentucky, 12 from Illinois, six from Tennessee, and one each from Alabama, Misouri and Florida.
"Our nine-month program isn't easy, but it is so worth it. Our goal is to build new facilities at the locations where we are. Both places are out in the county but close to town," said Peeler, who invited the commissioner to come by so they could see first hand what they are dealing with.
The commission also heard from Ashley Miller, who is a 2014 graduate of Ladies Living Free, and the office manager at Paducah Lifeline. She supports husband Eric, who is the men's director and a graduate. Peeler said the Millers are proof that addiction can be overcome.
Miller said her journey began five years ago when she entered Ladies Living Free and described her life as one of loss and brokenness up until that point. She said she grew up in a family with parents who abused prescription medication. At the age of 14 she said she ended up in the emergency room after taking too many of her parents' pills and it escalated from there. In 2013 she said she ended up in jail with 12 counts of controlled substance. She entered Ladies Living Free, which was her third and last treatment center.
"Once I got to Ladies Living Free, I was able to sit still long enough to see there was a better way of life. The program offered me love but most importantly they did not enable me and they taught me structure," said Miller.
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