Connecticut is on track for a third straight year in declining opioid overdoses — and lawmakers on Monday said a new $7 million grant from the Department of Justice could bring the numbers even lower.
The money is for addiction service providers in the western part of the state. Seven locations (Winsted, Watertown, Torrington, Greenwich, Stamford, Norwalk and Bridgeport) were chosen to receive parts of the grant.
Lauren Pristo, with the McCall Behavioral Health Network, said her agency will use its portion to work with families, law enforcement, and the Department of Corrections.
“We're building a future where individuals and families affected by substance use disorder are met with compassion, support and opportunities for healing, not shame or criminalization,” Pristo said. “The path forward is through harm reduction and alternatives to policing.”
U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) said people reentering society after serving prison time are at an especially high risk for overdoses. Part of the grant will go toward addressing their need for better support.
It will also go toward therapy for children whose parents are addicted to opioids, as well as drug test strips and Narcan.
“These are not inexpensive propositions, but you need to spend some money right now on recovery, on harm reduction, on addressing trauma, to save lives, and to make sure that we're not spending three times as much money a few years from now,” Murphy said.
Even with a recent decrease in overdose deaths, Murphy said the state will likely see more than a thousand deaths this year.
