$2.6 Million Grant Aids Essex County Correction Support Services

DANVERS, MA — The Volunteers of America of Massachusetts will use a $2.6 million federal grant to help those involved in the Essex County Correctional system gain the medication, counseling and substance abuse treatment they need.

The five-year grant of $2,625,000 will support 950 people. The federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and The Humana Foundation provided funds for four Volunteers of America initiatives totaling $9.2 million

Volunteers is a nonprofit that creates opportunities for individuals through residential and outpatient behavioral health treatment, re-entry for justice-involved individuals, veteran services and senior living care in Eastern Massachusetts.

"We will be able to leverage these funds to support those we serve in breaking the cycle of poverty and homelessness and in getting treatment for substance use disorder and mental illness utilizing our new care model that addresses root causes and not symptoms," VOAMASS President and CEO Charles Gagnon. "We will also be able to extend this model to far more communities and offer a broader range of services that will help clients realize their full potential.”

Volunteers said it will prioritize serving high-risk populations, including homeless, chronically unemployed, low-income, and BIPOC communities, veterans and people re-entering society from incarceration.

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(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)