The cuts would have ended a program that buys Narcan, a medication used to reverse drug overdoses, for city departments and local organizations. That includes the health department, first responders, faith-based organizations, neighborhoods and mental health facilities. The city says most of the grant has not been spent.
City officials got an email from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Thursday morning saying the $499,000 grant had been restored before its cancellation was formalized.
Charlie Lanter, Lexington’s Director of Housing Advocacy and Community Development, said the original decision could impact how the city views federal grants moving forward.
“They're giving us a grant and they reserve the right to take it back at some point,” Lanter said. “That's not something that was really a possibility previously. Now that it is, it's something that is always going to have to be in everyone's back of their mind as they're designing programs, knowing that if you don’t have an alternate funding source for that particular thing, that it could just end tomorrow.”
Lexington’s grant was originally awarded in October 2025 and runs through Sept. 30. Lanter said the city is usually able to reapply for the grant without issue, but is concerned that could change.
“As we're allocating any funds right now, it gives us pause to make sure we're making the most judicious choice for how that is spent, because we don't know if tomorrow we might need that $100,000 for something else,” he said.
The cancellation would also have impacted some local nonprofit groups. That includes the Community Action Council’s homeless street outreach program, a transitional housing program run by the Hope Center and a housing and recovery program for pregnant and parenting women run by Chrysalis House. The loss of grants would have owned up to millions of dollars in total.
