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TOPEKA – The Kansas Fights Addiction Grant Review Board awarded more than $6 million in grants to 33 applicants in support of substance abuse and addiction services, Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach announced.
Money recovered by the Attorney General's office through opioid settlements funds the grants, which are available to eligible agencies, entities and nonprofit organizations.
"These grants go to organizations working to abate the crisis across the state, working to help treat individuals with opioid and substance-use disorders, help develop communities of recovery, reduce the harm of the crisis, and ensure people seeking treatment are able to connect with providers offering care," Assistant Attorney General Christopher Teters said.
The Kansas Fights Addiction Grant Review Board received so many quality treatment applications that the board moved to double the total amount of funding to more than $6 million from the original ceiling of $3 million.
This allowed the board to fund 35 applications instead of only 17.
The board approved grants to the following organizations:
The Mirror, Inc. $187,397
Church of the Resurrection $199,946
Kansas Department of Corrections $200,000
31st Judicial District Drug Court $200,000
Preferred Family Healthcare, Inc. $199,293
DCCCA $200,000
Friends of Recovery Association $200,000
Lorraine’s House $57,000
New Chance Inc. $197,980
The University of Kansas Health System $200,000
Cornerstones of Care $105,831
Heartland Community Health Center $200,000
Crawford County MHC $200,000
High Point Advocacy & Resource Center, Inc. $200,000
Hunter Health Clinic Inc. $199,170.61
The Mirror, Inc. $48,785
Riley County Community Corrections $200,000
Unified Government Public Health Department $200,000
High Plains MHC $87,819
Valeo Behavioral Health Care $200,000
Valley Hope Association $182,577
Mental Health Association of South Central $150,621
Bert Nash Community Mental Health Center $200,000
The Center for Counseling & Consultation $177,375
Community Health Center of Southeast KS $200,000
Kanza Mental Health & Guidance Center $200,000
Third Judicial District of Kansas $200,000
DCCCA $200,000
CKF Addiction Treatment $200,000
Saint Francis Community & Residential Services $200,000
Substance Abuse Center of Kansas $200,000
Heartland RADAC $30,000
The Cedar House Foundation $25,000
Empower House Ministries $200,000
New Beginnings Inc. $195,000
Combatting the fentanyl crisis is a priority for the Kobach administration. The Attorney General launched a public service announcement campaign warning Kansans about the dangers posed by fentanyl, a synthetic opioid.
And in July, Kobach announced the creation of a Joint Fentanyl Impact Team, a coalition tasked with identifying and breaking up fentanyl distribution operations in the Sunflower state.
According to estimates, more than 107,000 people died from a drug overdose in the U.S. in 2021. Of those, 75 percent involved opioids. Kansas isn't immune to the crisis. In 2019, Kansas reported 393 deaths. In 2020, the state reported 477 overdose deaths, and in 2021 - the most recent year for which statistics are available - Kansas reported 678 deaths.
Kansas has reached multiple settlements with major pharmaceutical companies, distributors and related firms as part of the state’s ongoing efforts to bring accountability to those that fueled the opioid-addiction crisis and to provide funds to support addiction services. Kansas has secured more than $340 million in settlements to be paid to the state over the next 18 years.
The Kansas Legislature enacted the Kansas Fights Addiction Act in 2021, authorizing the creation of the KFA board. Sunflower Foundation, a statewide health philanthropy based in Topeka, serves as the administrator for the KFA grant program.
Eligibility is limited to state agencies, local and county governments, and nonprofit organizations that provide services in Kansas for the purpose of preventing, reducing, treating, or otherwise abating or remediating substance abuse or addiction. To be eligible, applicants also must release all legal claims arising from covered conduct against each defendant named in the opioid settlement agreements. Learn more about the KFA board and the opioid settlements at ag.ks.gov/about-the-office/affiliated-orgs/kansas-fights-addiction-act-grant-review-board.