The state of Kentucky, like the rest of the nation, has been scourged by the opioid epidemic.  Overdose fatalities have risen steadily for a decade to over 1,000 overdose deaths per year in the Commonwealth.  Drug overdose has surpassed vehicle accidents as the leading cause of accidental death in Kentucky.  Nationally, Kentucky ranks third in overdose fatalities per capita.  And while the overdose fatalities are disturbing, they only paint a narrow picture of the opioid epidemic.  Kentucky families have been caught in the collateral damage of this public health crisis as more people are incarcerated for drug related crime, more children are lost to the foster care system, more of the burden is borne by hospitals, and more Kentucky families are torn apart.

In 2016, the office of the Surgeon General released a report entitled "Facing Addiction in America," a compendium of current research on this worsening crisis.  The report suggested that substance use must be managed along a continuum that includes prevention, treatment, and recovery.  In that light, UK extension began exploring ways to address the opioid epidemic within each of these domains.  

Cooperative extension at the University of Kentucky and extension nationally each developed work groups dedicated to finding solutions to the opioid epidemic.  We've met dozens of times to share programming being implemented in cooperative extension at institutions across the country and have begun coordinating an approach nationally.  

We created "Addiction 101," a three hour in-service training for educators and agents across the commonwealth to develop a better understanding of addiction, to reduce stigma therein, and to begin thinking about ways that agents could make an impact in their respective communities.  Over 100 agents attended these trainings.  Also, a modified version of this training was offered at the KEHA meeting in Louisville where about 50 homemakers attended.

Similarly, we were invited to Hart County for a community forum on the opioid epidemic.  We presented the modified training and offered some solutions for building coalitions to address the issue.  As a result, Hart County created a task force and began instituting many of the solutions recommended by UK extension.  About 60 community leaders including the chamber of commerce and Sheriff's office attended the training and began implementing recommended changes in their community.