drug abuse

Former members of Kansas City addiction treatment groups for teenagers allege the programs isolated them from friends and family and pushed them into unsafe behavior. Plus: a "foster care bill of rights" is moving through the Kansas Legislature.

When teenagers and young adults in Missouri and Kansas struggle with addiction and alcohol abuse, some turn to outpatient groups based on the idea that substance abuse treatment has to be fun and feel good for it to stick — but former clients say the programs pushed them into reckless behavior.

As part of the new county budget, five social services organizations will receive funding for their work with unhoused people, drug rehabilitation and behavioral health programs. The groups say the money will help them serve hundreds more people suffering from substance abuse.

Johnson County courts are expanding a program that focuses on treating individuals with mental illness or drug issues, instead of punishing them. Plus: Scientists are grappling with how to better define and predict extreme weather events causing havoc across the Midwest.

Kansas City offers myriad services and organizations for the unhoused and those on the brink of houselessness. Here are a few.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, fentanyl overdose deaths rose 350% between 2019 and 2021. That makes fentanyl overdoses the leading cause of death in this country for people between the ages 18 and 45.

Kyrie Fields is charged with leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death and tampering with a motor vehicle in connection with her alleged involvement in a hit-and-run accident that left Charles Criniere dead.

In 2021, drug overdose deaths increased by 43% from the previous year in Kansas and constituted the No. 1 cause of death among adults aged 18 to 44 in Missouri. An addiction treatment center in Paola, Kansas, that opens its doors this month hopes to help reverse those trends.

As of the end of August, Kansas City traffic fatalities were up 25% over a year earlier. Nationwide, deaths are at a 20-year high, a surge not seen among any other developed countries.

The Kansas City chapter of Full Circle wants to help young people find enthusiasm for addiction recovery.

Care from a clinic or hospital accounts for about 20% of a person's health, while the other 80% is affected by the community that surrounds them. That's why one medical school professor is teaching medical students about social determinants.

Kansans with substance use problems say they are falling through the cracks of a legal system that’s more concerned with punishing them than getting them sober. And, a transmission line that would deliver wind energy from southwest Kansas to other parts of the country has some Missouri farmers concerned about the use of eminent domain to complete the project.