Energy Communities AmeriCorps VISTA EDA - SOAR Y1

As energy opportunities expand, coal and power facility jobs are declining across the United States. This VISTA project will develop and advance programs that increase environmental awareness and stewardship, job training, employment pathways, and access to existing federal and community resources for low-income individuals living in energy transition communities.

Shaping Our Appalachian Region (SOAR) was formed 10 years ago by Congressman Hal Rogers and Governor Steve Beshear when the coal industry had its final decline in Eastern Kentucky. Communities began asking the all-important question of "What's next?" for a region that had been dependent on this single industry. From those initial conversations came SOAR, a special regional initiative to bring the right answers to this question in a full-time capacity. SOAR communicates, convenes, and connects leaders and organizations from across Eastern Kentucky to accomplish critical long-term goals of increasing the region's population and labor force participation. SOAR serves the 54 Appalachian Regional Commission counties in Eastern Kentucky.

The core of SOAR's work happens in the 36 ARC distressed counties in Eastern Kentucky, which means these counties are in the bottom 10% of counties nationwide when it comes to median household income, 3-year trailing unemployment rate, and poverty rate. These communities are struggling with outmigration, a declining tax base, a lack of job opportunities, low labor force participation, and other barriers to employment like housing and childcare shortages. SOAR's EDA Recompete project, The Eastern Kentucky Runway, seeks to remove barriers to employment for individuals aged 25 - 54 years old and bring them back into the workforce. Over the next 5 years, SOAR expects to reduce the prime age employment gap in its 12 project counties by 5% and move 1,500 Eastern Kentuckians aged 25 - 54 into full-time employment.