Project Ricochet

06/02/2026

05/29/2026

SNAPSHOT: FREE III Monthly Impact Report | May 2026

Through our Healing Beyond the Chair Initiative, Project Ricochet continues bringing overdose prevention, recovery support, and community healing into trusted spaces throughout Fayette County.

📍 Well Groomed Barbershop Flagship Site
470 E New Circle Rd #4
Lexington, KY 40505

May Highlights:

✅ 24 Outreach Encounters
✅ 9 Naloxone Education Conversations
✅ 7 Fentanyl Test Strip Education Sessions
✅ 5 Warm Referrals to Services
✅ 18 Overdose Prevention Materials Distributed
✅ 12 Wellness Check-Ins
✅ 10 Resource & Support Information Shares
✅ 12 Art Installation Participants

Featured Community Art Installations (Colin Cook, Urban Art Collective):

🎨 Recovery Begins With Us
🎨 Stories of Survival
🎨 Remember. Repair. Recover.

Together, we are reducing stigma, strengthening recovery pathways, and building healthier communities through trusted relationships, education, and hope.

Do you need to talk? Speak with someone today.
988 Su***de and Crisis Lifeline (24/7)

05/28/2026

Stop The V**e! Please take a moment to complete the survey. Your responses matter. You matter.

Survey Found Here - https://forms.gle/y5hTargaPuC6NDB76

05/22/2026

🎉 COMMUNITY, COME OUT AND SUPPORT! 🎉

Project Ricochet is proud to support the Grand Opening Block Party for Newtown Cuts Barbershop!

Join us for an afternoon of:

✂️ Haircuts
🎶 Music
🍔 Food
🎮 Games
🩺 Health Screenings
🤝 Community Connection

📍 528 Booker Street, Suite 2
📅 Sunday, May 31, 2026
⏰ 1:00 PM – 6:00 PM

This is more than a barbershop opening — it’s a celebration of neighborhood pride, unity, culture, and positive community energy. Let’s show love and support for a space dedicated to bringing people together.

Bring the family, invite a friend, and come celebrate with us!

Congratulations!!! James R. Garrett, MSW
Mentor | Advocate | Barber | Therapist

05/12/2026

New Series: The Ricochet Effect: Breaking the Cycle – To***co, Truth, and Black Health

The latest installment of The Ricochet Effect: Breaking the Cycle: The Architecture of Targeting — How To***co Industries Engineered Harm in Black Communities with Dr. Valerie Yerger (Continuum 1), confronts one of the most enduring yet underexamined public health crises impacting Black communities:

Featuring Dr. Valerie Yerger of the African American To***co Control Leadership Council, this critical conversation moves beyond traditional prevention narratives to examine the structural realities of to***co industry targeting, menthol addiction, policy delay, and systemic health inequities.

This continuum challenges listeners to reconsider to***co prevention not simply as an issue of individual behavior, but as a function of:

~ Historically and culturally-motivated targeted outreach and marketing practices.
~ Opportunities for stronger institutional alignment.
~ Public health responses that could benefit from stronger alignment.
~ Intergenerational health and wellness challenges.

Grounded in community-based participatory research (CBPR), public health equity frameworks, and policy translation, the discussion explores how trusted institutions, culturally responsive interventions, and coordinated systems change are essential to disrupting embedded patterns of harm within Black and All communities.

This is not merely a discussion about to***co. It is a discussion about health parity, economic consequence, community resilience, and the architecture of prevention itself.

The Ricochet Effect: Breaking the Cycle: The Architecture of Targeting — How To***co Industries Engineered Harm in Black Communities with Dr. Valerie Yerger (Continuum 1) Episode Here - https://www.wuky.org/podcast/the-ricochet-effect/2026-05-11/continuum-1-the-architecture-of-targeting-how-to***co-industries-engineered-harm-in-black-communities

The Ricochet Effect: Breaking the Cycle - To***co, Truth, and Black Health
Series Here - https://www.wuky.org/tags/the-ricochet-effect-breaking-the-cycle

***coPrevention

05/07/2026

Honoring Partnership & Excellence With Lextropolis Magazine

We are incredibly grateful for the extraordinary coverage of the 2026 Central Kentucky Black Family Conference. Lextropolis beautifully captured the brilliance, creativity, leadership, and lived experiences of our youth while preserving the spirit of community, culture, art, and empowerment that defined this year’s conference.

Their thoughtful coverage of the CKBFC2026 Action Plan further highlighted the importance of sustainability, collaboration, accountability, and long-term transformational work within our community.

This partnership means far more than media coverage. It reflects shared vision, purpose, and a deep love for our community. Thank you for documenting not just an event, but the moment.

~ Dr. El-Amin

Explore The Latest Edition Here: https://madmagz.app/viewer/69e15c5fdb0fef00146b7f1b -8

05/06/2026

Celebrate the final installment of the 2025-2026 Lyrically Inclined series with us on Thursday, May 14, 2026, from 6–8 PM at On The Rox as the Project Ricochet Urban Art Collective closes out an incredible season of poetry, culture, healing, and community connection.

Hosted by acclaimed spoken word artist Taca Hollis, Lyrically Inclined has created space for authentic storytelling, artistic expression, intergenerational dialogue, and culturally grounded wellness conversations throughout Lexington. From Juneteenth reflections to Roots & Heritage celebrations and evenings centered on love, poetry, and soul awakening, this series has demonstrated the transformative power of spoken word and community engagement.

We extend our deepest gratitude to every artist, performer, supporter, and attendee who helped make this series impactful and memorable.

Bet On You! Reclaim Your Power: Special thanks to the Commonwealth of Kentucky, Cabinet for Health and Family Services, on behalf of the Department for Behavioral Health, Developmental and Intellectual Disabilities, Division of Administration and Financial Management, for supporting Project Ricochet’s public awareness campaign addressing problem gambling and its intersections with behavioral health, mental health, and substance use prevention.

All initiatives remain aligned with Project Ricochet’s mission to empower underserved populations through health education, cultural preservation, and youth-led mobilization.

Join us for an evening of poetry, reflection, culture, and collective healing.

05/06/2026

INVEST IN YOU! BET ON YOU!

2026 Cohort Update: Bet On You! Reclaim Your Power Community Health Worker (CHW) Foundational Training Program

Project Ricochet is proud to announce that 16 of 25 participants have already applied for the 2026 Bet On You! Reclaim Your Power Community Health Worker (CHW) Foundational Training Program, a culturally grounded workforce development initiative embedded within the Barbershop & Beauty Salon Initiative (BBSI).

Only 9 spaces remain.

📅 Registration Deadline: June 30, 2026 at 5:00 PM

Registration Link: https://forms.gle/RUc7ukuAxZntF2mg6

This initiative is preparing barbers, stylists, and community advocates to serve as frontline public health leaders focused on:

• Problem gambling awareness and prevention
• Mental and behavioral health
• Social drivers of health
• Community engagement and referral systems
• Health equity and culturally trusted outreach

The Summer Sunday Cohort (September 20th, 2026 –October 25, 2026) is designed for individuals ready to move beyond conversation and into community impact.

Earn $960 Degrees✨“Completion moving toward balance with infinite potential.”

Project Ricochet continues to expand pathways that bridge workforce development, prevention, behavioral health, and community empowerment through trusted spaces and real-world engagement.

05/05/2026

The TRIBE Presents…

05/02/2026

Now Recruiting: Bet On You! Reclaim Your Power Community Health Worker (CHW) Foundational Training Program

Project Ricochet is actively recruiting 25 Community Health Advocates for the Bet On You! Reclaim Your Power Community Health Worker (CHW) Foundational Training Program, a workforce development initiative embedded within the Barbershop and Beauty Salon Initiative (BBSI).

This is not just training. It is infrastructure building.

We are preparing barbers, stylists, and community health advocates to serve as frontline public health practitioners, addressing:

• Problem gambling awareness and prevention
• Mental and behavioral health
• Social drivers of health
• Community-based intervention and referral systems

Cohort: September–October 2026 (Sunday Hybrid Model)

Registration Link: https://forms.gle/T2jzw2c3pDtrADai7

Registration Deadline: June 30, 2026 at 5:00 PM

Training Schedule (Full attendance required):

Sept 20: In-person kickoff – CHW Foundations + Communication
Sept 27: Public Health + Advocacy (Virtual)
Oct 4: Care Coordination + Health Education (Virtual)
Oct 11: Assessment + Professional Skills (Virtual)
Oct 18: Ethics + Practicum (Virtual)
Oct 25: Mental Health First Aid (Virtual, 8 hours)

Time Commitment:
2:00 PM – 8:00 PM Instruction
8:00 PM – 10:00 PM Practicum

What Participants Receive:
• 60 documented experiential hours toward CHW certification
• Mental health and trauma-informed care training
• $960 stipend upon completion
• Project Ricochet CHW Training Certificate
• Direct pipeline into community-based public health leadership

Program Focus: Through the Bet On You! campaign, this initiative strengthens early intervention and prevention systems within trusted community spaces. Participants are trained to identify risk, engage individuals, and connect them to services, where people already feel safe and seen.

Eligibility
• Age 18+
• Interest in public health, equity, or community engagement
• Preferred: experience in advocacy, outreach, or service

Important Notes: This training is independent of the Kentucky Office of Community Health Workers but provides verified experiential hours aligned with certification pathways.

- This is a fully funded opportunity. No cost to participate.
- We are not simply training individuals, we are building a trusted workforce ecosystem.

For More Information Contact:
Dr. Abeni El-Amin
President, Project Ricochet, Inc.
[email protected]
919-827-3118
www.projectricochet.org

Project Ricochet acknowledges the generous support of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, Cabinet for Health and Family Services, on behalf of the Department for Behavioral Health, Developmental and Intellectual Disabilities, Division of Administration and Financial Management. This funding supports Project Ricochet’s public awareness campaign addressing problem gambling and its intersections with behavioral health, mental health, and substance use prevention. All initiatives are aligned with Project Ricochet’s mission to empower underserved populations through health education, cultural preservation, and youth-led mobilization.