Renee Brandenburg Salyers
Renee Brandenburg Salyers embodies what many of us strive to be. Generous to a fault, compassionate and dedicated are just some of the terms used to describe her. Many of you know that Renee has recently married and will be leaving her long-time post at WestCare and Estill County. She will be sorely missed by not only everyone that has worked with her but also the many people she has helped while she has been at WestCare. She has worked tirelessly as an advocate for people with addiction issues and has never sought any type of acknowledgement for her dedicated work. These are just a few of the things that Renee has been able to accomplish while at WestCare:
- She worked closely with the Estill County Fiscal Court, and other agencies, to create the sober living apartments at the WestCare facility. These apartments have been a first step in recovery and sober living for many people in Estill County. They have served to unite many a family that had no place to live due to an addicted parent or guardian.
- She was instrumental in establishing substance abuse counseling and alcohol counseling in the community that was made available to everyone regardless of background or finances.
- She was involved in establishing several jail recovery programs in Kentucky that provide inmates with intensive substance abuse counseling that would have been otherwise unavailable to them. These programs focused on allowing inmates an opportunity to use their time of incarceration in a productive manner to focus on their substance abuse issues.
- She was responsible for implementing a day reporting program in Estill County, which is an alternative to incarceration for defendants with substance abuse issues that allows these defendants to report daily for counseling, work and random drug testing. Not only has this program literally saved lives in this community it has also saved our county tens of thousands of dollars in jail expenses.