photo by: Chris Conde/Journal-World

The Douglas County Courthouse is pictured Thursday, Dec. 22, 2022.

A Douglas County nonprofit that distributes the opioid overdose reversal drug naloxone, or Narcan, recently had a waiting list of more than 1,700 requests, and it says supply issues and other challenges are preventing it from fulfilling much of that demand.

That’s according to a letter that social service safety-net nonprofit DCCCA sent to Douglas County, and on Wednesday the agency will be briefing county commissioners on the supply problems it’s facing as it attempts to combat the increasingly widespread fentanyl crisis.

Commissioners will also be hearing a presentation about some housing-related programs at their meeting on Wednesday, including a rent and utility assistance program that recently changed the way it selects its aid recipients. Both presentations are for informational purposes only, so commissioners won’t be taking any action.

First up is DCCCA’s briefing about the naloxone supply challenges in Douglas County. Naloxone, commonly known in its nasal spray form as Narcan, is an overdose reversal drug that’s become more and more sought after as fentanyl-laced drugs become more common in the community. Since August 2020, DCCCA has had a distribution program supplying the drug to individuals and agencies in the county and across Kansas, and it said it had distributed more than 24,000 kits throughout the state.

But according to DCCCA’s letter to the county, there’s still a lot of demand for naloxone in Kansas that DCCCA can’t meet. Part of that is simply because DCCCA hasn’t been able to maintain a consistent supply of the drug, but there are also restrictions on how some of its funding for naloxone distribution can be used. For instance, it said some of its state funding is specifically for distributing the drug in smaller counties in southeastern and western Kansas, so the naloxone purchased with that money can’t be distributed in Douglas County or any other urban counties.

Because of these various challenges and the consistently high demand, DCCCA said it had two monthslong periods in 2022 when it had to operate the program on a waiting list. Most recently, from September through December, DCCCA had more than 1,700 requests from around the state on the waiting list for naloxone. So far this year in Douglas County, DCCCA said it has distributed nearly 150 naloxone kits.

Supply issues aside, DCCCA’s letter also suggested some possibilities for making it easier for community members to access the overdose drug. Those include partnerships with local businesses and libraries and Engage Douglas County, a coalition dedicated to reducing substance abuse. Another idea in the letter is the creation of “Naloxboxes,” containers that could be placed at various locations in the county and stocked with naloxone to ensure easy access. DCCCA’s letter said that in other areas that have implemented a Naloxbox, the boxes are typically unmonitored.

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The second presentation, from Douglas County human services program manager Gabi Sprague, is an annual update from the Housing Stabilization Collaborative, and it will cover one HSC program that’s been a particular focus in recent months: the rent and utility assistance program.

Earlier this month, the HSC made an abrupt shift in how it decides who receives assistance. Previously, it used a first-come, first-served system, but now it’s switching to a lottery system.

That change coincided with the end of the statewide Kansas Emergency Rental Assistance program, which closed at the beginning of the month after having distributed nearly $20 million in assistance to Douglas County from March of 2021 to November of 2022. The HSC will have only a fraction of that amount — as of this month, less than $1 million — available to distribute to folks who apply for rent and utility assistance through the end of 2023.

Sprague is also expected to share information about the number of households the HSC serves, demographic trends, challenges and updates about other housing initiatives. A presentation included with the agenda highlights topics like the county’s eviction landscape, a mediation program and legal representation for tenants.

Also on Wednesday, Mariel Ferreiro, the Lawrence-Douglas County Housing Authority’s landlord liaison, will speak about efforts to get more landlords to accept tenants who use vouchers and other forms of housing assistance. The Lawrence City Commission has been discussing a possible ordinance that would prohibit landlords from refusing to rent to tenants who receive government assistance. If approved, it would be the first ordinance of its kind in the state.

City leaders may end up making their decision on that ordinance before the County Commission meets Wednesday, since it’s on the City Commission’s agenda for Tuesday evening.

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In other business, the commission will hold a “high-level discussion” with regional experts about energy demand and opportunities.

The discussion will take place during the commission’s work session and will include Jay Kalbas, the director of the Kansas Geological Survey; Ashok Gupta, a senior energy economist with the Natural Resources Defense Council’s Climate and Energy Program; and Donna Ginther, a distinguished professor of economics and the director of the Institute for Policy and Social Research at the University of Kansas. The discussion will focus on the economics of the county’s energy sources and the evolving future of energy generation.

Wednesday’s work session will begin at 4 p.m., followed by the business meeting at 5:30 p.m. at the Douglas County Courthouse, 1100 Massachusetts St. The meeting will also be available by Zoom. For meeting information, visit the county’s website: dgcoks.org/commissionmeetings.