Northern Kentucky attorney Burr Travis was recognized with the Ray of Hope Award at the Friends of NorthKey Community Care annual Apple Blossom Brunch at Receptions in Erlanger Sunday.
Dr. Owen Nichols (r) presents Florence attorney Burr Travis with the Ray of Hope Award at the NorthKey Community Care annual Apple Blossom Brunch at Receptions in Erlanger Sunday (provided photo).
Dr. Owen Nichols, President and CEO of NorthKey Community Care, said in his remarks at the event that Travis has been a tremendous friend to NorthKey and a true community advocate for those fighting an addiction.
Travis approached Dr. Nichols about five years ago with an interest in creating a program to address the number of individuals in jail in Northern Kentucky on minor drug charges and expediting their entrance into substance abuse treatment.
At that time, Travis was looking at retiring from his long-term law practice as a partner in the firm of Busald, Funk, and Zevely located in Florence. When he did semi-retire, he went to work for the Kenton County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office Rob Sanders.
Shortly thereafter, Travis contacted NorthKey Community Care and told them that the Kenton County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office was ready to move forward with an expedited release program for those facing minor drug related charges.
Thus, the HEART Program (Heroin, Expedited Addiction, Recovery and Treatment) was born in May 2015.
The HEART program involves clinicians from NorthKey Community Care who conduct level of care assessments on individuals arrested on minor drug charges that are in the Kenton County Jail. Those clinicians then develop treatment recommendations for individuals.
The level of care assessment and treatment recommendations are presented to the court involved in the proceedings, and the person charged with the minor drug offense is released from jail on the condition that they participate in substance abuse treatment rather than remaining in jail. This program has reduced jail time from several weeks to just a few days.
Since implementing the program in Kenton County in May 2015, approximately 600 individuals have been released from jail to enter substance abuse treatment. Dr. Nichols said the success of this program is clear when you consider there have been no overdose deaths among those individuals released from jail through the HEART program, and fewer than 5 percent of those released from jail through the HEART program have been re-arrested following their release into a treatment program.
Travis was described as a community hero for coming up with a creative solution to an extremely difficult community problem, which is why he was selected by the Friends of NorthKey Community Care to receive the Ray of Hope Award.
Travis has always been an active member of his community and has been recognized many times over the years for his contributions. During his career he has received the Oasis Life Achievement Award, Kentucky Association of Criminal Defense President’s Award, and the Transitions Coffee Can Award, to name just a few.
The Friends of NorthKey Community Care started working to reduce the stigma attached to mental illness and substance abuse approximately 47 years ago. NorthKey Community Care is a part of the Northern Kentucky Mental Health—Mental Retardation Regional Board, which provides a full range of behavioral healthcare services throughout the eight county region of Northern Kentucky.
NorthKey provides services to approximately 11,000 individuals annually to address the mental health, substance abuse, and developmental disability needs of Northern Kentucky.
For more information regarding NorthKey Community Care, click here .
NorthKey Community Care
Burr Travis is an amazing man! He is so busy, I don’t know how he finds the time to sleep. He truly dedicates his life to his work, I’m proud to say I know him!! Way to go, thank you for helping find a solution!! I wish I could help!