Feds awarding $1.6 billion in funds to address overdose, addiction crises in communities
More than 107,000 Americans died from drug overdoses in 2021, an increase of more than 15% from 2020.
Photo: Shana Novak/Getty Images
In a push to prevent drug overdoses, the federal government is awarding more than $1.6 billion in investments for communities throughout the country to address the addiction and overdose crisis. The funds are being awarded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA).
The investments made through SAMHSA's State Opioid Response (SOR) and Tribal Opioid Response (TOR) grant programs, as well as through HRSA's rural communities opioid response programs, are geared to help communities looking to leverage a number of tools – from prevention to harm reduction, to treatment and recovery supports for people in need.
According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data, more than 107,000 Americans died from drug overdoses in 2021, an increase of more than 15% from 2020.
HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra said the agency's strategy for ending the overdose crisis is to provide access to evidence-based, person-centered care.
"Through these grants, we are investing in hope," he said.
WHAT'S THE IMPACT?
The investments include four types of funding for states and communities.
The first is SAMHSA's SOR grant program. SOR provides formula funding to states and territories for increasing access to FDA-approved medications for the treatment of Opioid Use Disorder (OUD), and for supporting prevention, harm reduction, treatment and recovery support services for OUD and other concurrent substance use disorders (SUD). The program also supports the continuum of care for stimulant misuse and use disorders, including those involving cocaine and methamphetamine.
SOR helps to reduce overdose deaths and to close the gap in treatment needs across the U.S. by giving states and territories flexibility in funding evidence-based practices and supports across different settings to meet local community needs.
In addition to implementing service delivery models that enable the full spectrum of treatment and recovery support services – as well as prevention, education and harm reduction services – SOR provides funds for states and territories to purchase and distribute naloxone to increase availability and accessibility of the medication.
The SOR grant totals $1,439,500,000 to be awarded to 58 states and territories. The funding includes a set-aside for the states with the highest OUD-related mortality rates.
And then there's SAMHSA's TOR grant program TOR addresses the overdose crisis in Tribal communities by increasing access to FDA-approved medications for the treatment of opioid misuse, and by supporting prevention, harm reduction, treatment and recovery support services for opioid and stimulant misuse linked to mental and substance use conditions.
CDC data also shows the rate of drug overdose deaths among Native Americans and Alaska Natives is 75% above the national average. TOR supports the American Indian and Alaska Native Cultural Wisdom Declaration (CWD), which elevates the importance of tribal identities, culture, spiritual beliefs and practices for improving wellbeing.
TOR recipients are encouraged to incorporate traditional approaches into their grant activities. The TOR grant totals $54,976,150, and it is being awarded to 102 tribal entities.
Additionally, $16.6 million in related funding is going to the SOR/TOR Technical Assistance program, whose national network of consultants provide free educational resources and training to states, communities and individuals in prevention, harm reduction, treatment and recovery services for OUDs and SUDs.
Another $6.5 million is going to Rural Opioid Technical Assistance Regional Centers, which develop and disseminate training and technical assistance for rural communities for addressing opioid issues affecting these communities.
Lastly, HRSA announced investments of more than $104 million to expand treatment and prevention services for substance use, included medications for OUD, in rural communities nationwide as part of its Rural Communities Opioid Response Program, a multiyear initiative aimed at reducing the morbidity and mortality of rural Americans from substance use disorder.
THE LARGER TREND
In President Biden's first State of the Union, he named addressing the opioid crisis and overdose epidemic a top priority of his Administration, and earlier this year released his National Drug Control Strategy to expand access to treatment for addiction and overdose, and to disrupt drug trafficking.
HHS invested close to $15 million in June in 29 organizations in rural communities to address psychostimulant misuse and related overdose deaths. Drug overdose deaths involving psychostimulants, including methamphetamine, rose from 547 in 1999 to 23,837 in 2020, an increase exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
With the investment, HHS has provided a total of more than $400 million for the Rural Communities Opioid Response Program (RCORP) initiative, the HRSA said. This is a multiyear initiative aimed at reducing the morbidity and mortality of substance use, including opioid use, in high-risk rural communities.
Through SAMHSA, HHS also recently announced $55 million in funding for its Tribal Opioid Response grant program that addresses the overdose crisis in tribal communities.
Both programs address opioid and stimulant misuse, as reflected in the President's Fiscal Year 2023 proposed budget for HHS on drug-related programs and initiatives that totaled $21.1 billion. The funding helps support the National Drug Control Strategy.
Last month the White House released the administration's plan to address methamphetamine and its impact on public health and safety.
ON THE RECORD
"Every American deserves access to culturally responsive prevention, treatment, and recovery services and supports," said Dr. Miriam E. Delphin-Rittmon, HHS Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use and the leader of SAMHSA. "SAMHSA remains committed to fighting overdose and to reminding the nation that there is hope – treatment is effective and recovery is possible."
Twitter: @JELagasse
Email the writer: jeff.lagasse@himssmedia.com
