Oct 28, 2023

High Plains Mental Health, NW Kansas services get grants to fight opioid addiction

Posted Oct 28, 2023 9:30 AM
Photo by Pixabay
Photo by Pixabay

Office of Kansas Attorney General

TOPEKA –Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach announced the award of more than $10 million in grants through the Kansas Fights Addiction grant program.

The 59 grants, including High Plains Mental Health Center and others in northwest Kansas, will be used to assist approximately 37,100 Kansans in support of substance abuse and addiction services in Kansas.

“This is unprecedented,” Chris Teters, assistant attorney general, said. “This is $10 million that didn’t exist in the opioid abatement space that is going to target emergency needs in areas that either really need additional assistance or may not have had access to resources previously.

“These awards will expand access to naloxone. We will be using this opportunity to make naloxone available to communities and organizations across the state at the lowest cost possible.”

Naloxone is a fast-acting medication used to reverse the effects of opioid overdose.

The Kansas Fights Addiction Grant Review Board awarded grants to rehabilitation facilities, treatment centers, local law enforcement agencies, health providers and first responders to be used for treatment, recovery, and opioid prevention efforts.

Some of the grant recipients include:

  1. High Point Advocacy and Resource Center in Colby

The organization will use its $200,000 grant to provide essential treatment services to the uninsured and to initiate adolescent screening, treatment, and recovery services.

The grants are funded through multiple legal settlements with major pharmaceutical companies and related firms as part of the state’s ongoing efforts to bring accountability to those that fueled the opioid-addiction crisis. Kansas will receive more than $340 million over the next 16 years to fight and treat opioid addiction.

To view a complete list of the 2023 Kansas Fights Addiction Treatment and Prevention Grant Awards, go here

To view the Kansas Fights Addiction Grant Review Board Impact Report, go here.

The Kansas Fights Addiction Act was enacted in 2021 by the Kansas Legislature and authorized the creation of the KFA board. The Sunflower Foundation, a statewide health philanthropy based in Topeka, serves as the administrator for the KFA grant program.