U.S. Senator Joe Donnelly has announced that, with his support, the Hamilton County Council on Alcohol and Other Drugs (HCCAD) has been awarded grant funding from the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Bureau of Justice Assistance Comprehensive Opioid Abuse Site-Based Program.
The $490,343 award will help HCCAD develop and implement its Community Opioid Prevention Effort (COPE), a wide-ranging initiative that seeks to expand existing services for those suffering from substance use disorder, while expanding and enhancing prevention education, community outreach efforts, access to treatment services and development of research and data collection for community use. Donnelly wrote a letter to the Bureau of Justice Assistance supporting HCCAD’s request.
Donnelly
Donnelly said, “I was proud to support HCCAD’s effort to fight the opioid epidemic, and I’m pleased this grant funding is coming to Hamilton County. The opioid abuse epidemic is a public health crisis that devastates families and communities, and it will take all of us working together to successfully combat it. I’m confident that COPE will be able to use these funds to help more Hoosiers who need assistance.”
Monica Greer, Executive Director of HCCAD, said, “Our community has seen a significant increase in Opioid related deaths and non-fatal incidents. In 2017, Hamilton County had a total of 289 opioid-related events, such as EMS runs, ER department visits for an opioid overdose, or an opioid-related death. During last year, we documented 36 opioid poisoning deaths. We are fortunate to receive this valuable grant to help combat the opioid epidemic in our community. We plan to develop and implement an Opioid Quick Response Team to establish a front-line response to opioid overdoses. The Team will serve the community through immediate intervention at on-scene overdoses, conduct follow up visits, provide recovery support and other community resources to the individuals and their families. Ultimately we hope to engage these individuals in treatment services.”
For information on how Senator Donnelly’s office can assist cities, municipalities and groups applying for federal grants, please visit donnelly.senate.gov/help/grants.