Ohio's Opioid Crisis: Strongsville Gets $80,000 Grant

STRONGSVILLE, OH — Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine joined Mayor Tom Perciak and other Strongsville officials on Wednesday to announce major funding for a program to combat the opioid crisis in Strongsville. DeWine's office's will award $83,542 to the city to fund Drug Abuse Response Teams and Quick Response Teams.

The opioid problem has hit all of Ohio, including Strongsville. The city said in a statement that in 2017 alone the police and fire departments have administered 73 doses of Narcan — an overdose antidote.

Strongsville Police Chief Mark Fender said the funding will be used primarily for two programs: Safe Passages and a Quick Response Team. Both programs are part of the city's Community Opiate-Outreach Program (CO-OP). (To stay up to date on these stories, subscribe to the Patch Strongsville newsletter. As news breaks and the story develops, you will be the first to receive updates from Patch.)

Safe Passages allows residents that want help for drug addiction to simply walk into the Strongsville Police station and ask for help. The department will arrange for that person to be taken to a treatment facility. Neighboring Berea, Olmsted Township, Bedford and Newburgh Heights all have similar programs.

The Quick Response Team will be made up of law enforcement and addiction rehabilitation experts. The teams will visit overdose survivors within 72 hours of the overdose and try to guide those individuals toward treatment.

“Our objective is to eradicate the (opiate) problem locally – to get people clean, and to keep our community safe and thriving,” Mayor Tom Perciak said at the conference.

Strongsville City Council President Ken Dooner was appointed by Perciak to oversee the CO-OP program. He said the crisis needs to be confronted at a local level.

“I am optimistic that the local initiative being launched by the Strongsville Police Department will make a difference in the opioid crises,” said Perciak. “I am so proud that the faith community, business community and local government have partnered in this effort. And I appreciate the work being done by Attorney General Mike DeWine to make such local programs a reality.”

In late August, the Strongsville Police Department unveiled a new, multi-pronged effort to combat the spread of opioids in the community. Among the new initiatives is a partnership between Strongsville Police and OSHP. As part of that deal, the OSHP will assume primary enforcement and response duties along I-71. That will allow Strongsville officers to concentrate on policing neighborhoods.

Additionally, the city will host a trio of forums designed to bring the community together and create neighborhood-wide solutions to the opioid challenge. The first program will be held Sept. 12 at the Strongsville Recreation Center at 6:30 p.m. That session will be called The Neurobiology of Addiction and How It Impacts the Family System and Society.

More information on the forums can be found by clicking here.

Read more on Ohio's Opioid Crisis:

• Ohio Sues 5 Opioid Drug Producers
• 666 Overdose Deaths In Cuyahoga County In 2016
• Ohioans More Likely To Visit ER Due To Opioids: Report

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