Six local health departments/districts (LHDs) will receive $30,000 apiece each of the next three years to expand efforts to combat the opioid epidemic, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and Connecticut Department of Public Health (DPH) Commissioner Dr. Raul Pino announced.
The six LHDs receiving the funding include: Bridgeport, Hartford, Ledge Light Health District in New London, New Haven, Quinnipiack Valley Health District in North Haven and Waterbury.
The funding is being distributed as part of a federal grant the state received from the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to tackle opioid-related overdoses, the governor’s news release said.
The grants are for areas with great need, according to Connecticut Department of Mental Health and Addictions Services (DMHAS) Commissioner Miriam Delphin-Rittmon, who said the collaboration with local health districts will support the efforts of the Alcohol and Drug Policy Council as it works to address the crisis.
The grants will help each of the six districts implement some of the recommended activities anticipated to be released in a strategic plan being developed in partnership between the governor’s office, DPH, DMHAS, the Department of Children and Families, the Department of Consumer Protection, the Yale School of Medicine and Connecticut insurance carriers.
