By Nadia Ramlagan
Public New Service
Kentucky’s latest
drug overdose fatality report
showed a drop in deaths and for the first time, a decline in deaths among Black Kentuckians.
Groups across the Commonwealth have been working to increase access to harm reduction services.
Latosha Perry, executive director of the Louisville-based nonprofit EmpowHer with Open Arms, said her organization provides prevention services to adolescents as well as group and individual therapy for adults who are typically required to be in therapy in order to see their children.
“Some struggling with addiction or just now coming out of incarceration, they don’t have the money to cover those expenses,” Perry explained. “It typically decreases the rate of them reunifying with their family.”
Overdose deaths in the Commonwealth decreased for the third year in a row, with a slightly more than 30% decrease in 2024, compared with the previous year. Still, more than 1,400 Kentuckians died of a drug overdose.
Ashley Smith, founder and executive director of the nonprofit agribusiness Black Soil Kentucky, said her organization has distributed Narcan units and provided training to farmers so they are equipped to act as first responders.
“We have worked to pair education outreach and technical assistance with direct produce distributions across rural and urban communities,” Smith pointed out.
Both organizations received grant funding from the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky for their harm reduction efforts.
If you or a loved one is struggling with addiction, call 833-8KY-HELP (833-859-4357) to get assistance connecting with a treatment center. Information about treatment programs is available at
FindHelpNowKy.org
, and information about how to obtain naloxone is available at
FindNaloxoneNowKy.org
.