Kentucky receives $37 million federal grant for drug overdose prevention

Kentucky will receive a three year federal grant

(Story Courtesy of Kentucky Today)

FRANKFORT, Ky. (KT) – Gov. Andy Beshear announced that Kentucky has received a $37.2 million, three-year federal grant from Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services to support the state’s ongoing work to prevent overdoses and save lives.

With the grant, the Kentucky Overdose Response Effort (KORE) will continue to address the overdose crisis by increasing access to prevention, harm reduction, treatment and recovery services for individuals facing addiction.

In announcing the grant, Beshear said that in 2023, KORE-funded programs delivered free treatment and recovery services to over 32,600 people, distributed 96,700 free Narcan – a medication used to reverse opioid overdoses – kits and reached 145,000 youth through school and community-based prevention programs.

“A decrease of nearly 10 percent in drug overdose deaths last year is something worth celebrating,” he stated. “It says that what we’re doing is working. It says the more people who can get the help they need, the more lives we can save. We are thankful that these federal funds will make sure the good work we’re doing continues and grows.”

The Cabinet for Health and Family Services (CHFS) reports that over the past six years, the federal funding has led to an unprecedented expansion in services addressing opioid and stimulant use at the community level. KORE – along with several federal, state and local agencies – now supports over 160 partnerships statewide, many of which provide FDA-approved medications that reverse opioid overdose and treat opioid use disorder.

“We are grateful for the continued investment from our federal partners in addressing the overdose crisis in Kentucky,” said CHFS Secretary Eric Friedlander. “This grant ensures we can continue implementing programs that save lives. From this work, we see that treatment works, and recovery is possible.”

This new funding award will allow the state to continue to build on the program’s successes while also expanding work to support evidence-based prevention, treatment and recovery support services to also address stimulant misuse, including for cocaine and methamphetamine.