The Wichita City Council has approved more than $20,000 in funding to help a community agency in dealing with the opioid and fentanyl crisis.

The funding will go to Safe Streets Wichita to provide 800 overdose recovery kits over the next five months.   City Manager Robert Layton said the number of projected fentanyl-related deaths for Sedgwick County is 300 for this year.  He said many of the overdoses have occurred along the Broadway corridor and along West Kellogg.

Layton said the funding will come from the city’s share of opioid settlement funds received through the state of Kansas from pharmaceutical companies.  He said the kits will use Naloxone, which reverses and opioid overdose.   Layton said studies have shown that community-based distribution of Naloxone to laypersons is cost-effective, prevents opioid overdoses and it connects people with substance abuse problems to treatment and recovery programs.

Layton told the Council that Safe Streets Wichita has had funding issues, and the agency asked for funding to get through the next five months.   He said this will allow time for the Food and Drug Administration to authorize the distribution of Narcan for overdose treatment.   He said the Wichita Police Department and local agencies will be working on a long-term strategy for distribution of Narcan.    Layton said actions the city takes with opioid settlement money would be considered seed funds, and the challenge for local agencies will be in getting private donations to continue these efforts.

Mayor Brandon Whipple said this will be a way the city can address the opioid crisis and try to save as many lives as possible.