Kane County Funds Efforts to Reduce a Rapid Rise in Drug Overdoses

Deaths caused by drug overdoses has been labeled by federal health officials as a national epidemic. According to the Center for Disease Control, 500,000 American from 1999 to 2022, have died from an overdose. Last year in Kane County, 419 people overdosed and were transported to a Kane County hospital. In 2022, 99 people died of an overdose in Kane County, reflecting over a 20% increase over the past four years.

The Kane County Health Department, through a grant from the Illinois Department of Human Services, is offering significant funding to community-based groups to continue to prioritize the fight against the opioid epidemic and reduce overdose-related deaths locally.

The organizations and funding amounts include:

• African American Men of Unity - $25,000

• AID - $35,000

• Echo Development Center - $20,000

• Ecker Center - $18,000

• Kane County Collaborative Diversion/SAO - $15,000

• Lighthouse Recovery-$40,000,

• Path to Recovery Foundation-$12,300

These groups will be using the state grant money to improve access to naloxone, increase the use of recovery coaches, conduct street outreach, expand transportation options for individuals in treatment, utilize harm reduction strategies and enhance pathways to treatment opportunities.