Thrive Allen County received a landmark funding award from the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) for its work addressing the opioid crisis in Southeast Kansas. This Rural Communities Opioid Response Program (RCORP) Implementation grant will provide $1 million over three years to Thrive and a coalition of area agencies.

Thrive Allen County leads the Southeast Kansas Substance Misuse Prevention (SEK-SMP) Coalition representing a variety of sectors in Allen, Bourbon, Coffey, Neosho, Wilson, and Woodson Counties. This grant builds on three years of planning and initiatives by the coalition.

Read more about the coalition’s work addressing the opioid epidemic.

HRSA RCORP funding will enable the coalition to implement crucial strategies focused on prevention, treatment, and recovery from opioid misuse. Thrive Allen County will offer transportation for participants in drug court or substance misuse treatment. Funds will also be set aside to assist underinsured and uninsured patients seeking opioid misuse treatment. To spearhead these efforts, Thrive will hire a new Rural Health Coordinator, and the Southeast Kansas Mental Health Center will add a Chemical Case Manager to their team. Additional areas of focus will include drug takeback programs, continuing education and training, naloxone supplies, and more.

For Thrive, this award is a milestone in a long, ongoing fight against the opioid epidemic. Thrive convened an eye-opening summit on opioid misuse in 2017 that brought the problem to light in our community.

Says Thrive President and CEO Lisse Regehr,

“Thrive Allen County is honored by this opportunity to continue our work with the six-county coalition to address opioid misuse in our communities. We are ready to break down barriers for those caught in the opioid epidemic and looking for a way out.”