Nearly $163K Awarded To Montgomery County To Fight Opioid Abuse

ROCKVILLE, MD — Montgomery County will receive more than $162,000 in grant money from the state's Opioid Operational Command Center and Emergency Management Agency to help fight the opioid and heroin epidemic, officials announced Thursday.

"Our administration continues to be committed to using every resource possible to ensure our local jurisdictions have access to life-saving resources such as programs aimed towards prevention, treatment, and recovery," said Gov. Larry Hogan. "These grants are a powerful tool for our local communities in our fight against the opioid epidemic."

Reserved for FY 2020, the funding is part of a $50 million, five-year initiative launched by the state in 2017. Individual jurisdictions and programs across the state can receive funding through competitive and block grants.

"I am delighted that more than fifty critical programs all across the state of Maryland will be funded through more than $5.6 million in competitive grants, in addition to $4 million in block grants that will be distributed to each of the individual jurisdictions to determine how best to fight the opioid epidemic," said Steve Schuh, executive director of the Opioid Operational Command Center.

Through block grants, Montgomery County will receive $162,894 to:

• Support public-awareness campaign
• Host four or more community forums on opioid and substance misuse
• Increase community and police access to naloxone
• Continue support for Stop Triage Engage Educate Rehabilitate (STEER)

Across the state, dozens of programs will receive competitive grants for FY 2020, including:

Prevention & Education

• $184,000 to expand law-enforcement-assisted diversion (LEAD) to treatment programs
• $14,000 to support mental & behavioral health counseling for children and families who are surviving victims of the opioid crisis
• $295,000 to support statewide EMS education initiative for treating opiate overdoses
• $50,000 to provide harm-reduction materials at Maryland senior centers

Enforcement & Public Safety

• $580,000 to increase monitoring and regulatory oversight of controlled substances prescribers and dispensers

Treatment & Recovery

• $380,000 to improve access to naloxone statewide, specifically EMS
• $88,000 to support a Family Peer Support Outreach Specialist for Maryland families who are struggling with substance-use disorders
• $20,000 to train women who are incarcerated as certified peer-recovery specialists
• $61,000 to support a care coordinator and peer outreach associate to help individuals and families suffering from a substance-use disorder
• $98,000 to support families impacted by substance use statewide