Federal opioid grant funding secured by U.S. Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH) is helping home-state efforts make a difference in ending the drug crisis in Ohio and across the nation.
“Their approach to addressing addiction and its grip on our communities is exactly what is needed to help turn the tide of the opioid epidemic in Ohio,” Sen. Portman said. “I will continue to work with local groups and community leaders to help ensure they have the support and funding they need to continue their good work.”
Sen. Portman met with members of the Adams, Lawrence and Scioto Counties Alcohol, Drug Addiction, and Mental Health Services Board, as well as staff from area counseling center programs, Hughes Reentry Service, and the Crisis Centers Opiate Crisis Response Team, as well as law enforcement staff during a Jan. 7 opioid roundtable discussion in Portsmouth, Ohio.
Local leaders discussed the $525,000 in grants they have received thus far as part of the total $26 million authorized for Ohio under the 21st Century CURES Act. The Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction is distributing the grant funds through the counties board in local Ohio communities and state-wide initiatives. This is the second year in a row Ohio has received $26 million in funding.
The senator called the Jan. 7 meeting with community leaders “productive.”
“The board and community partners are making terrific use of the funding they received through the CURES legislation, and I’m pleased to see it is making a difference,” he said.
Sen. Portman, who has taken a leadership role in advocating for more resources to end the opioid epidemic, will continue to seek additional overall opioid funding this year.
During the last session of Congress, the lawmaker helped secure roughly $3 billion in new opioid funding in the most recent bipartisan funding agreement, according to his staff.