Grants for the anti-overdose drug Narcan are among the latest wave of proposed cuts by the Trump Administration.
One South Dakota advocate who helps supply it statewide says she’s worried about the precedent it sets.
Emily’s Hope is a nonprofit organization with a mission to remove the stigma around substance use disorder and remove financial barriers for treatment and recovery. The nonprofit recently announced it is distributing 20,000 naloxone, or Narcan, kits statewide.
The Washington Post reported on proposed cuts from President Trump’s office announcing major cuts to the Department of Health and Human Services, including the loss of a $56 million grant program that gave first responders Narcan.
Though none of Emily’s Hope’s operations are altered, founder and CEO Angela Kennecke said now is not the time to make cuts because progress is happening.
“Overdose deaths and fentanyl poisoning deaths have dropped by more than 26% nationwide. And I truly believe a big part of that is because of the saturation of naloxone all across the country,” Kennecke said. “It is needed, and in order to continue to see those deaths fall, we have to continue to provide it to everybody who needs it. And we have to remove the cost barriers, and it has to be accessible.”
She said making naloxone more widely available helps fight the existing stigma of opioid users who overdose.
Kennecke said she agrees with taking action to stop fentanyl from coming in and reducing the efforts but says it’s not one single effort that stops the epidemic.
“We have to come at it from all angles and all sides. And so I do get concerned when I see proposed cuts for naloxone distribution or cuts for addiction, substance use disorder treatment,” Kennecke said. “I get really worried about that. So, I think we have to look at it comprehensively and we have to do everything we can, especially when it comes to prevention for our young people.”
In a fentanyl roundtable held by Rep. Dusty Johnson in March, Kennecke stressed the importance of not cutting funding to naloxone distribution programs.
The South Dakota Department of Social Services and Department of Health did not immediately respond to SDPB on whether their departments would be impacted by these federal grant cuts.
