Henry Lucas, LCSW, LCADC, is the owner of Louisville Health & Healing and the CEO of the Kentucky Harm Reduction Coalition. With a passion for transformative healing, Henry is also a certified psychedelic-assisted therapist and the author of Maximize.

Kentucky, a state that straddles the Southeast and Midwest regions of the United States, has had a complex relationship with harm reduction, often shaped by political and community resistance. Despite these challenges, the Kentucky Harm Reduction Coalition (KyHRC), founded in 2014, has made significant progress in promoting harm reduction services statewide. As the state’s first grassroots harm reduction organization, KyHRC initially focused on community-based naloxone training and distribution. A pilot program, the Health and Wellness Lounge, was launched in 2023 as a sanctuary for individuals seeking support, resources, and community. This pilot program was a collaboration between KYHRC and Kentucky Anthem Medicaid (state-funded) to reduce unnecessary admissions to hospitals for people who use drugs and instead, connect people to services and resources that could be utilized. The Lounge offers comprehensive health services, harm reduction and wound care supplies, hygiene products, food, and other daily necessities. It also serves to connect individuals with a supportive network through health education workshops, support groups, wellness activities, and on-site staff, providing a holistic approach to harm reduction. We will describe how KyHRC's partnership with a Medicaid provider has had a profound impact on the local community in Louisville, Kentucky, a city with the highest rate of fatal overdoses in the state with over 2,000 deaths in 2023. This model can be adapted to promote harm reduction in similarly challenging environments, emphasizing the importance of combining holistic care to meet community needs.