(LEX NEWS) — Overdose deaths in Kentucky have declined for the fourth straight year, with a recovery advocate pointing to legal aid services as an essential but often overlooked part of the state's opioid response.
Governor Andy Beshear highlighted that overdose deaths are down 50.8 percent in Kentucky since 2021.
Carrie Stambaugh, a staff attorney with Legal Aid of the Bluegrass, said the state has long been ahead of the curve on this issue.
"We had legislation in the state long before the opioid crisis was made a national public health crisis," Stambaugh said.
Stambaugh joined Project Renew in 2021, the same year the decline began. Project Renew is a statewide program supporting recovery services and addressing legal barriers and stigma that threaten long-term recovery.
The program has attorneys embedded in legal aid offices across Kentucky helping people in recovery try to regain custody of their children, secure housing and employment, clear criminal records, and move forward after addiction.
"We have attorneys in every single one of those legal aids across the state that are working on these issues," Stambaugh said.
Stambaugh works directly with Kentuckians in recovery as part of a team with offices in Ashland, Lexington, Morehead, Louisville and Covington. A blue van funded by Project Renew allows legal aid staff to meet people where they are, providing free legal support to low-income and vulnerable groups.
"You can see sometimes just from beginning to end the transformation in their self-confidence, the hope that builds," Stambaugh said.
Stambaugh said she hopes her message spreads awareness about the crucial aspects of legal aid.
"Stigma is one of the last and one of the hardest barriers that we need to bust through. We are making progress recognizing addiction for what it is, a chronic disease that is a medical issue that has lots of little spider fingers that go out and affect other areas of folks' lives," Stambaugh said.
According to the 2025 Kentucky Drug Overdose Fatality Report, 1,110 Kentuckians lost their lives to a drug overdose last year — the lowest number recorded since 2014 and the second-largest single-year decrease since Kentucky began reporting overdose deaths in 2012.
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