Queer Kentucky, a journalistic nonprofit based in Northern Kentucky, announced this week a new harm reduction initiative throughout the commonwealth.
The initiative sees the distribution of 12 harm-reduction lockers stocked with various healthcare and emergency supplies throughout the state.
“As a journalism organization, we’ve really expanded our content around substance use in the Queer community, including a full digital issue on harm reduction earlier this year,” said Missy Spears, Queer Kentucky’s executive director, in a press release “Providing direct resources is not in our normal workday, but we view these lockers as our way of giving back to the community and filling a critical need that we saw being unmet.”
Each locker contains supplies, such as naloxone, test strips for both fentanyl and xylazine, bandages, condoms, HIV self-testing kits, pregnancy tests, sunscreen and aloe. They’ve been placed at businesses that serve at-risk populations. The lockers have been distributed to locations in Northern Kentucky, Louisville, Lexington, Richmond, Berea, Johnson County and Pike County, according to Queer Kentucky.
1,410 Kentuckians died of overdoses in 2024, according to the 2024 Kentucky Drug Overdose Fatality Report, an annual report released by the Kentucky Justice and Public Safety Cabinet. This was “a decrease of 30.2% from the 2,020 resident deaths in 2023 and resulting in a rate of 32.0 deaths per 100,000 residents,” according to the report.
You can find businesses throughout the commonwealth that keep naloxone on hand at findnaloxone.ky.gov. While many of the firms partnered with Queer Kentucky’s locker program can be found on the site, there are some who have chosen to operate under the radar in order to “avoid harassment,” Spears said.
“Some businesses serve communities that have less experience around harm reduction models, so we feel like it’s better to quietly exist for those who need it in those spaces versus bring a lot of attention to it, along with the potential for pushback,” Spears added.
You can learn more about the program at queerkentucky.com/harm-reduction.
