Ky’s overdose death rate dropped 30%. Why is Trump cutting programs that helped? | Opinion

Opioid crisis

All across Kentucky, dedicated members of community coalitions have been working together for years to address our state’s experience of America’s Opioid Crisis. Grass roots collaboration occurs in groups which include law enforcement, treatment professionals, public school staff, elected officials, emergency services staff, public and private health care professionals, and people with lived experience in long-term recovery from a substance use disorder. Community groups develop strategies based on their community’s demonstrated needs and use research data from national groups like SAMHSA and NIH, to inform the work. And it’s working. Kentucky’s 2024 overdose death numbers dropped 30% from 2023.

So, it’s impossible to understand the current Trump administration’s announcements of planned cuts to the availability of Narcan that has saved so many lives. It is impossible to understand the cuts to national research that guides this work. It is impossible to understand the proposed cuts to Medicaid, which has funded the treatment of more people than any other funding source. It is impossible to chalk these decisions up to waste, fraud, and abuse. Tragically, we are coming to understand these decisions as a lack of compassion in many of our country’s leaders.

Kathy L. Miles, Danville

Christian DEI

The anti-DEI nonsense just won’t go away. History books are being removed from our military schools because they’re about women or non-whites who accomplished something.

What’s next? I guess all the MAGA Christians who are anti-woke will be banning “Jesus Loves the Little Children” from their churches. After all its DEI nonsense — “red and yellow, black and white, they are precious in His sight.”

Oh, and don’t forget “The Bible.” Better ban that too. It’s full of references to love of other, to care for the alien and those who are less fortunate. DEI for sure.

DEI initiatives may have gotten a bit out of hand, but the anti-DEI are not practicing Christianity. The Bible tells us that no good shall come to those who distort Christ’s teaching and sow fear, hatred and lies.

Glenna Brouse, Lexington

GOP Logic

There’s a quiet but dangerous belief inside today’s GOP: money equals morality. You won’t hear it said outright, but you can see it in their policies—like slashing Medicaid or gutting ACA subsidies. It’s Ayn Rand’s old ideology, still whispering through the halls of power.

In this worldview, billionaires aren’t just rich—they’re righteous. If you’re wealthy, you earned it. If you’re poor, it’s your fault. That belief makes it easier to justify cruelty. Why offer care to struggling Black, brown, and white families if their need is seen as a failure?

It also explains why so many overlook corruption. If wealth proves virtue, then protecting it — no matter the cost—must be moral.

This narrative flatters the rich while punishing the rest. And it’s seductive. What elite wouldn’t embrace a story that says their bank account reflects their goodness?

But as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. reminded us, “we are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality.” Hurting some hurts us all. And history shows—authoritarian economies built on cruelty and corruption eventually fail.

This won’t work forever. People are waking up.

If you agree, call it out. Talk about it. If you disagree, let’s talk. There’s a better future to build—together.

Taylor Coots, Lexington

Budget proposal

The 2025 Reconciliation Bill is not good for Kentuckians, but my representative, U.S. Rep. Andy Barr, R-Ky. and other Kentucky Congressmember are trying to push it through Congress by Memorial Day. Among a long list of radical harms, this bill proposes the biggest cuts to Medicaid ever. In Kentucky, almost 1.5 million people are enrolled in Medicaid, including children; pregnant women who receive prenatal, delivery, and postnatal care; elderly adults in nursing homes; people with disabilities; adults working low-income jobs; and those unable to work.

Proponents of the bill call it a “reform” designed to cut fraud. Look — receiving Medicaid isn’t stealing. How can you steal a strep test, a mammogram, a pap smear, or a vaccine? These are not fun “extras.” They’re potentially life-saving healthcare.

Undocumented immigrants aren’t stealing Medicaid either. They’re not eligible for federal funding, and even immigrants who eventually become citizens pay into the system long before they receive benefits.

This bill reduces who’s eligible for Medicaid, creates hurdles for keeping coverage, and uses these “savings” to justify extending Trump’s tax cuts, which created a $1.5 trillion deficit when he enacted them in 2017. Who benefits from those tax cuts? Definitely not the people receiving Medicaid.

Rachel Dorroh, Berea

Define conservative

U.S. Rep. Andy Barr, R-Ky., calls himself a conservative. He allows no daylight between himself and the current President, and he fully supports the budget bill now making its way through Congress. The problem is that those two claims directly contradict each other.

Conservative comes from the Latin “conservare” which means to “save, protect, keep from danger, and preserve.” The grotesque bill Barr supports, however, does not protect Kentuckians or keep us from danger. Quite the opposite. Among many other drastic cuts, the bill pulls funding from both the National Weather Service and FEMA at a time when Kentucky is reeling from yet another natural disaster, with dozens of lives lost and staffing shortages at NOAA offices. It cuts funding for cancer research by 57 percent, even though the 6th District, which Barr claims to represent, is home to one of the country’s top Comprehensive Cancer Centers, a critical site of life-saving research and a major economic force.

If Barr votes for this bill, he will not be serving or protecting those he took an oath to represent. The only thing he will be trying to protect is his own self-interest and his access to power. Kentuckians deserve so much better.

Kim Edwards, Lexington

No-Show Barr

I was one of the organizers of the April 29th Town Hall Meeting in Berea attended by 169 citizens. The goal of the event, sponsored by “We Show Up,” was to allow community members to share their concerns with U.S. Rep. Andy Barr.

We were aware that Barr would be in Washington and unable to attend in person, so we extended a written invitation for him to join via Zoom. His staff declined. Before sending these invitations, I visited Barr’s Washington office to discuss the idea of a town hall. I emphasized our flexibility regarding the time and venue. We were later told in writing that constituents could meet with his staff in Lexington.

Before the town hall, Barr’s office issued a statement accusing us of staging “a political stunt,” calling the event “a media circus” and “a desperate attempt to manufacture outrage.” Despite this, 40 people spoke at the event and raised concerns related to veterans, the environment, housing, Medicaid, immigration, tariffs, gun control, scientific research, and more.

Barr’s statement was disrespectful and inaccurate. Anyone can view the town hall on We Show Up’s Facebook page to judge for themselves.

If we invite Barr again at his convenience, will he show up?

Judith Weckman, Berea

Fake ICE

Trump has inasmuch created a hunting license for disappearing anyone not white in plain view. Now while you are thinking that if you are white, you are safe, think again. Anyone can be accused in public of being an undocumented immigrant, or some form of terrorist, by anyone dressed and faking law enforcement authority. They present no warrants, or at least none signed by any Judge. There is no formality at all to the process.

You can be “disappeared,” and no one will know whether it was actual law enforcement or thugs. I shudder that our daughters are not safe. It is an inevitability actual human traffickers will exploit. It’s conjecture to say our own government is trafficking in humans for political purposes. Every time from now and until this terrorism ends when I see a missing person poster, I will have to guess whether they have been spirited away under some pretext or kidnapped by thugs. Either way, it is terrifying.

This is not homeland security. This is not keeping anyone safe. It is the direct opposite. I have no fear of an immigrant. I do fear of the apparent fascist invasion present in our government.

Robert Moreland, Lexington

AmeriCorps

AmeriCorps is a strategic investment in our state and country’s future, and the recent decision to cancel over $13 million in AmeriCorps grants in Kentucky is nothing short of a crisis. The cuts will dismantle disaster recovery efforts, disrupt educational support for vulnerable students, and undermine the very fabric of our national service infrastructure at a time when our country needs it most.

At Teach For America, AmeriCorps grants are essential to recruiting thousands of new teachers every year to effectively lead high-need classrooms across the country. But termination of these grants doesn’t simply affect our educator pipeline-it affects the entire local education system, including important programs such as Hindman Settlement School and FRYSC Corps. Children will suffer the loss of these programs, and the staff left behind will be under an ever-increasing burden to provide these critical services.

For every dollar invested in AmeriCorps, $17 in economic value is generated, proving that national service is not only efficient but a powerhouse for economic growth. Investing in AmeriCorps is an investment in America’s future. We applaud those who are calling attention to this issue and urge others to contact their congressperson today and ask them to reverse the cuts.

Rosanna Ballinger, Interim Executive Director, Teach For America Appalachia, Hazard

Edited by Liz Carey