VITAL STRATEGIES ACTION FUND INC

Overdose prevention program: in 2024 the vital strategies action fund received a grant directed towards defensive lobbying in the state of kentucky. Specifically, the thrust of this effort was to counteract some of the harmful impacts of recently passed state legislation that aggressively targets people who are homeless and meets them with severe criminal measures rather than supportive public health environments. People who are homeless are among the highest risk groups for fatal overdose the new measures therefore would bring further harm to an already at-risk group, counter to extensive evidence that incarceration and punitive measures drastically increase the risk of overdose.this grant allowed for a subgrant to rebuild the dream, who organized a coalition within the state to begin working against the most harmful aspects of the new legislation. This coalition included groups from the public health field, as well as civil rights groups, and other advocates for supportive responses to marginalized populations for example aclu kentucky, kentucky center for economic policy, kentucky free, department of public advocacy, and homeless and houseless coalition of kentucky.this coalition first worked to amend the legislation to lessen the severity of some criminal penalties. They were also successful in advocating for the governor to veto the legislation an important positional statement despite the eventual overturn of that veto. Finally, after passage of the bill, this work was extended to negotiations with the state's administrative office of courts (aoc) and an agreement with that agency to provide key data to the advocacy coalition which will allow for an understanding of the 'before and after' picture in the wake of newly created or increased penalties, to characterize the laws' impacts on people and the justice system. 1. Forming a multi-sectoral coalition that includes public health groups, civil rights attorneys and advocates, economic policy institutions, legal protection entities, and other key policy experts.2. Securing a veto from the governor of kentucky against extremely harmful legislation that contradicts public health evidence.3. Securing agreement with the state's courts systems for receipt of key sentencing and supervision data to create a capacity to monitor the health and human impact of the new policies.