Lexington students and families to benefit from a half million dollars in "Everybody Counts" funding

Students and families in the Lexington area will benefit from an infusion of a half million dollars from Frankfort. The “Everybody Counts” initiative, out of the governor’s office, focuses on expanding scholarship opportunities.

A portion of the grant money will go to provide $10,000 scholarships through One Lexington to 18 rising seniors of color. It’s for students interested in pursuing careers in criminal justice, public safety, education, or mental health. Devine Carama is the director of One Lexington, working to address gun-related violence.

“If you are dealing with a health crisis, a disease, you don’t want a doctor just focusing on the size, just focusing on the symptoms, but you want them coming up with a cure for the sickness,” said Carama.

These scholarships will go to two students at each of the six public high schools plus one at each of six non-traditional high schools. Funding will also go to in-school mentoring groups and 13 school Family Resource and Youth Service Centers in neighborhoods dealing with repeat gun violence.

The funding will greatly help to expand the “Be the Change” scholarship program. Nola Lewis, a junior in criminal justice at EKU, was a previous recipient.

“I originally went in wanting to be a dispatcher and I still kind of do want to be a dispatcher cause I just like stuff like that…I had a field trip that I went to and we went to Frankfort with Kentucky Emergency Management. And so, I think I want to go into that and like help manage disasters and stuff like that,” said Lewis.

$150,000 will be dedicated to enhancing One Lexington’s in-school mentoring to reach public school students and their families who need mental health and trauma support services. And $1000 matching grants would be used by 13 Family Resource and Youth Service Centers in neighborhoods where repeat gun violence has occurred.

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