(KAIR)--Kansas Governor Laura Kelly, on Thursday, announced that the State of Kansas and the Kickapoo Tribe in Kansas have together received $17.2 million in federal grant funding to address the opioid crisis.

According to a release from the Governor’s office, “the funding will be used to increase access to treatment for substance use disorders, remove barriers to public health interventions...and expand access to recovery support services."

The Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services has received more than $16.7 million, and the Kickapoo Tribe in Kansas has received $500,000 in federal grant funding to address the opioid crisis and support individuals in recovery.

The funding, provided through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, will support states, tribal lands, and territories’ opioid response efforts. The release explains that the grant, for KDADS, will provide access to medication-assisted treatment to reduce overdose deaths for Kansans with opioid use disorder or stimulant use disorder. The funding will also allow Kansas to increase investments in overdose education, peer support specialists in emergency departments, and allow states to invest in other strategies that will help save lives in hard-hit communities.

According to the release, the Kickapoo Tribe “will develop a holistic TOR program, KTIK Return to Community that includes prevention; screening; treatment; and peer-led recovery for opioid, stimulant, and other substance use. Kickapoo Tribal Chairman Lester Randall, in the release, says the opioid crisis “has had a devastating effect on tribal nations throughout the U.S.", and says that seeing funding to address the issue coming to underserved communities is “a relief.”

The state and tribal grants run until September 29, 2024.