Centerstone To Receive 2018 Kentucky Nonprofit Award

Kentucky Nonprofit Network will recognize Centerstone at the 16th annual Kentucky Nonprofit Leadership Forum October 18 in Lexington.

Centerstone will receive the 2018 Innovative Nonprofit Award, which recognizes an organization that implements inventive, nontraditional programs or methods that effectively meet community needs. The award recipient is required to demonstrate creativity and vision in finding unique solutions to those needs.

Centerstone won for “The Living Room Project” – a first and one-of-a-kind diversion program in Kentucky serving adults dealing with substance abuse disorder and/or serious mental illness. The program offers a compassionate, supportive and clinically effective environment as an alternative to jail, emergency department visits or inpatient hospitalization. One unique aspect of the program is its peer support specialists – individuals in recovery with lived experiences are heavily integrated into welcoming, talking and encouraging Living Room guests. The program focuses on “high utilizers” – people in the community that cycle in and out of the system and are often turned away from other programs.

The award will be presented during the Kentucky Nonprofit Awards Luncheon, sponsored by Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Kentucky. Registration for the luncheon only are $45 for KNN members and $65 for potential members. Tables of eight are also available for purchase.

Other award recipients are Tim Magill, executive director of Life Adventure Center in Versailles, will recived the 2018 Distinguished Nonprofit Leadership Award, which recognizes outstanding leadership among Kentucky nonprofit chief executives and Todd P. Lowe, board member with Fund for the Arts in Louisville will receive the 2018 Outstanding Board Leadership Award.

The Kentucky Nonprofit Leadership Forum is hosted annually by the Kentucky Nonprofit Network and is the only statewide gathering of Kentucky’s nonprofit leaders. The two-day forum provides attendees the opportunity to gain the skills needed to effectively lead their organizations. KNN is the state association of nonprofits, existing to strengthen and advance Kentucky’s nonprofit community. The association serves as a resource for nonprofit leaders, board members and other volunteers, an information center on effective nonprofit management practices, and an advocate for the nonprofit sector.