The Allegheny County Health Department has received a $14.5 million grant to help it reduce deaths from drug overdoses.
The new grant, awarded by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, will allow the county to continue offering some programs and will support some new ones.
The funding, announced in a press release last week, comes at the end of a $15.6 million grant awarded by the CDC in 2019 for three years of similar work.
The grant will support some programs already begun under that grant, including:
- supporting access to overdose reversal drugs
- helping patients find care and medication that will reduce cravings and other side effects of discontinuing drug use.
- providing additional support for people who leave prison or jail
The grant will also support additional efforts to help people living on the street who are struggling with addiction and provide additional educational opportunities and materials for grassroots organizations that focus on communities of color. In recent years, Black residents in Allegheny County have been dying of overdose deaths at a higher rate than white residents.
"The partnerships we have forged have allowed us to make a lot of progress in combating the overdose epidemic; last year, we saw a decline in overdose deaths,” said the health department’s acting director Patrick Dowd. “This second … grant will allow us to expand on our work and hopefully keep this trend heading in the right direction."
The Health Department runs an Overdose Prevention Program’s webpage where residents can find additional information.
