BRASS unveils mobile advocacy unit to expand survivor services across south-central Kentucky

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — A local organization is bringing support services directly to survivors across south-central Kentucky with the introduction of a new mobile advocacy unit.

Barren River Area Safe Space (BRASS) unveiled the unit Tuesday during a ribbon-cutting ceremony in Bowling Green.

The mobile unit will serve as an office on wheels, allowing BRASS to provide advocacy services directly to communities throughout its 10-county service area.

The initiative aims to eliminate transportation barriers that can make it difficult for survivors to access assistance, particularly those who live farther away from the organization’s existing facilities.

Aleasha Martin, director of community operations at BRASS, said the organization recognized the need to find new ways to reach people who may not have reliable transportation or the financial resources to travel for services.

“If transportation or finances to get transportation is a barrier, then we have to figure out how we can reach them,” Martin said. “That way, they don’t feel like they can’t reach out because they can’t get to us.”

Martin said those challenges helped inspire the idea of creating a mobile office that could travel throughout the region.

“That’s kind of how we came up with the idea of having an office on wheels,” Martin said.

The new unit will allow BRASS to expand its reach while making advocacy services more accessible to survivors throughout the region.

BRASS also plans to unveil another mobile advocacy unit during a ribbon-cutting ceremony in Glasgow on Nov. 4.