July’s “Our Healthy Kentucky Home” initiative focuses on substance use disorder, which is sometimes known as addiction, and harm reduction.
Health Secretary Dr. Steven Stack explained in a Healthy Kentucky Home YouTube post that harm reduction seeks to reduce the negative consequences associated with using drugs and is largely provided through local health departments and community-based organizations.
“Harm reduction programs directly engage with and help people who use drugs in order to prevent overdose and disease transmission, provide access to health care services and support recovery,” he said in the post, also published on the Our Healthy Kentucky Home webpage.
The 2025 Kentucky Drug Overdose Fatality Report shows that 1,100 Kentuckians died from an overdose, down from 1,410 in 2024. This was the fourth year in a row that Kentucky saw a decrease in overdose deaths.
Stack said that while it is good news that the number of overdose-related deaths has decreased by more than 30% in Kentucky, when compared to previous years, there is more work to do.
“It’s essential that we don’t let up our efforts until we eliminate the horrors and tragedies associated with drug use and addiction,” he said.
Stack first pointed to the pillars of the Our Healthy Kentucky Home initiative as being important for people who struggle with addiction, noting that a healthy eating pattern is vital to recovery and that physical activity is known to increase the feel-good chemicals our bodies naturally produce. And, he said, it is important to build a strong, sober support network that understands your journey to a successful recovery.
He also encouraged Kentuckians seeking recovery and harm reduction services to visit the Find Help Now website at findhelpnow.org. Stack also listed several other resources, including one to help people find free naloxone, a drug used to reverse opioid overdose, at FindNaloxoneNowKY.org; the Kentucky Help Statewide Call Center at 1-833-8-KY-HELP (1-833-859-4357) or at [email protected]; and the 988 Suicide and Crisis hotline by calling or texting 988 or by visiting 988lifeline.org.
Other harm reduction resources in Kentucky can be found on the Our Healthy Kentucky Home webpage or the Kentucky Department for Public Health Harm Reduction Branch webpage.
