Pikeville, Ky.—A $750,000 cut by the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services has caused the Kentucky Homeplace Program to close down until July, at least.

The program’s director, Fran Feltner, said the cut equated to nearly half of the program’s estimated $2 million yearly budget. “Since our fiscal year begins in July, that $750,000 was what we would use to keep us running through June.” Feltner said the program has had lay off its entire staff so that its 50-some employees can draw unemployment.

The program, which operates within the University of Kentucky Center for Health in Rural Excellence, provides free medical, social and environmental services to those in need. During its 15 years of existence, it has provided tens of thousands of rural Kentuckians with medication, services, and items such as eyeglasses, hearing aids and wheelchairs that citizens would not have otherwise been able to receive.

According to Homeplace data, in the past 18 months, it has provided 21,852 Kentuckians nearly 700,000 services valued at more than $3.6 million and given them nearly $39 million worth of free medications. Of those 21,852 served, more than 3,000 were from Pike, Floyd, Letcher and Magoffin Counties.

Pike County Judge/Exe-cutive Wayne T. Rutherford has written a letter to Gov. Steve Beshear, asking him to appropriate funding to the program so that it can keep running without hiatus.

“I have been informed that our local and all Kentucky Homeplace of-fices across the state are being closed due to no funding. I cannot stress enough what closing these offices will do to those individuals who benefit from the services that Kentucky Homeplace provides,” wrote Judge Rutherford.

The news of the program’s closing has also troubled Pike County Social Services Commis-sioner Carol Napier. “It greatly upsets and saddens me to hear about the closing of the Kentucky Homeplace Program. Since I took office as Commissioner, I have relied on it to assist our people in obtaining free medications, glasses, and hearing aids. The employees at the local Kentucky Homeplace office have been actively involved in the Pike County Human Resource Interagency Coal-ition since its inception and worked closely with me during last year’s Pike County Remote Area Med-ical Expedition (RAM). It was the Kentucky Home-place who provided follow-up medical care to nearly all of the people who received services at RAM,” said Pike County Social Services Commissioner Carol Nap-ier.

Feltner said she expects the doors of the Kentucky Homeplace to reopen in July, but that when it does, it will be operating with $1.2 million annually, 40 percent less than before. Even with the decrease, however, Feltner said she will be appreciative for the funding. “We really want to come back full strength, but if not, at least we can come back by half,” she said.

Judge Rutherford and Carol Napier are asking Pike Countians to contact their local state representatives and Gov. Beshear and ask them to restore complete funding both for the current and the next fiscal year to the Kentucky Homeplace Program. State officials may be reached at the following phone numbers: Gov. Beshear –(502) 564-2611; Rep. Hubert Collins—(502) 564-8100, ext. 654; Rep. Keith Hall—(502) 564-8100, ext. 635. Sen. Ray Jones—(502) 564-8100, ext. 681; Rep. Leslie Combs —(502) 564-8100, ext. 669; and Rep. Greg Stumbo —(502) 564-8100, ext. 699.