Kentucky awards $34M in opioid settlement grants across 100+ organizations

LEXINGTON, Ky. — The Kentucky Opioid Abatement Advisory Commission announced Thursday it is awarding more than $34 million in grant funding to more than 100 organizations in what officials called the commission's largest settlement fund distribution yet.

Attorney General Russell Coleman spoke at the announcement in Lexington, describing the settlement funds as "blood money" owed to families devastated by the opioid crisis. "What we spend, what we announce — it is blood money to those that have lost their sons and their daughters," Coleman said.

The commission has been tasked with distributing more than $900 million in opioid settlement funds received by Kentucky from lawsuits against manufacturers and distributors of opioid medications. The latest round of grants brings total allocations to more than $85 million distributed to 130 organizations across the state since the commission's creation in 2021.

Notable local recipients include Recovery Cafe Lexington, which received $748,576 to support recovery services in Boyle, Fayette, Franklin, Whitley and Harlan counties. Recovery Cafe Lexington is a peer-led community space that provides recovery support services and resources for individuals struggling with addiction and mental health challenges.

Other top grant recipients included Volunteers of America MidStates with $800,000 for Recovery Community Center operations; the Franklin County Health Department with $750,000; and the Kentucky Pharmacists Association with $648,674 to provide medications for opioid use disorder in jails.

The latest drug overdose fatality report showed overdose deaths in Kentucky decreased for the third consecutive year, though 1,410 people still died in 2024, down from 1,984 in 2023. Black Kentuckians saw particularly notable improvement, with 170 deaths in 2024 compared to 259 in 2022.

Coleman said the progress, while meaningful, remains insufficient. "That's an improvement. But for the 1,410 families who still have an empty chair in their house, last year was not a win," he said, emphasizing that Kentucky continues to face one of the nation's highest rates of opioid use disorder.

Kentuckians seeking addiction treatment resources can visit findhelpnow.org/ky. Those experiencing overdoses can access free Narcan, an opioid reversal treatment, through the state locator, or call 988 for mental health crises and 911 for emergencies.