Kentucky woman’s mission to honor son’s favorite holiday has become yearly tradition

HARRODSBURG, Ky. (WKYT) - When her son, Justin, passed away unexpectedly from a heroin overdose in 2015, Kim Anderson started searching for a way to help others struggling with addiction. She found a purpose in her family’s favorite time of year.

“This was my son’s favorite holiday. That’s why we chose Thanksgiving,” said Anderson, a Transportation Specialist at Isaiah House. “He loved it. Not only the food, but the family part of it.”

A decade of serving others

As a Transportation Specialist, Anderson is often the first person that clients at Kentucky nonprofit Isaiah House meet on their road to addiction recovery. Every year, she spends the months leading up to Thanksgiving collecting donations and cooking a massive meal so hundreds of clients and others in need can share the holiday together.

“It makes the clients feel like they have a family surrounding them when they can’t go be with their families,” said Anderson.

Anderson is now on her tenth year of providing Thanksgiving meals to the men and women of Isaiah House. It’s a tradition that recipients say makes a world of difference.

Elizabeth Strauss was a client at Isaiah House before she became an employee. She says she still remembers how it felt to receive a meal from Anderson.

“Miss Kim and a group of amazing volunteers had prepared this huge Thanksgiving meal for us. And that meal was the first time in about five years I had even thought about holidays,” said Strauss, Public Relations Manager at Isaiah House. “And the gratitude that I felt for that, for all of the work that they had put into it and the amazing meal they had prepared for us, that’s always stuck with me.”

Help during the holidays

If you or someone you know are struggling with addiction, help is available.

“The holidays are hard when people want to seek treatment. Sometimes they don’t come during the holidays because they don’t want to miss out on their families at home,” said Sarah Wells, Senior Director of Resource Development at Isaiah House. “Anybody that is out there struggling right now, please let them know that we are here. We will come get them wherever they are at, and we will offer them family.”

To contact Isaiah House, call (859) 375-9200. All phone calls are private and confidential.

How to donate

Anderson is still collecting food and monetary donations for this year’s Thanksgiving meal.

To reach Anderson, you can find her phone number and payment methods on her Facebook page.

You can also make a direct donation to Isaiah House by visiting the nonprofit’s website.

Anderson said she hopes she can honor her son’s memory by continuing to host Thanksgiving for others every year.

“Every year I say I hope he’s proud. That’s one of my goals,” said Anderson. “He’d just kiss me on the cheek and tell me he loves me.”