Federal Funds To Benefit Area Agencies To Prevent Overdose Deaths

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(Columbus) – Ohio Governor Mike DeWine and Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (OhioMHAS) Director LeeAnne Cornyn have announced the award of $100 million in federal grant funding that will be used in communities across the state to advance ongoing efforts to fight opioid use disorder and prevent overdose deaths.

In our area, agencies receiving funds include Paint Valley ADAMH to the tune of $2.6 million; Scioto Paint Valley Mental Health $488,000; Adams, Lawrence and Scioto County ADAMH $2.1 million; Another Chance Lifechangers Inc. $253,000; Pickaway County Area Recovery Services $175,000; Fairfield County ADAMH $513,000; and Connexion West in Fairfield County- $130,000.

This marks the fourth round of State Opioid and Stimulant Response (SOS) grant funds awarded throughout Ohio. These SOS 4.0 grants were received by OhioMHAS through the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) to support local organizations that offer prevention, harm reduction, treatment, and long-term recovery services for Ohioans struggling with an opioid or stimulant use disorder.

“In Ohio, we’ve put into action one of the nation’s most comprehensive and aggressive strategies for fighting substance use and preventing overdose deaths – and these SOS grants are a key piece of the puzzle,” said Governor DeWine. “We are empowering our local partners to advance their work to protect communities and families from the devastating consequences of opioids and other substances. Ohio’s overdose death rate has started to decrease significantly in recent years, and our goal is to use these grants to continue this encouraging progress.”

Ohio’s overdose deaths have dropped substantially two years in a row. In 2023, Ohio’s 9% decline in overdose deaths far outpaced the national 2% decrease.

The SOS 4.0 grant funding aims to continue to build upon this momentum.

More than $68.7 million is being awarded to Ohio’s county Alcohol, Drug Addiction, and Mental Health Services (ADAMHS) boards and community-based providers. Click here to view a list of these awardees.

OhioMHAS will also use a portion of the funding to partner with state agencies to ensure life-saving naloxone and other community resources are available throughout the state.

OhioMHAS coordinated with statewide partners, state-level agencies, and Governor DeWine’s RecoveryOhio initiative to identify Ohio’s goals for SOS 4.0 funding. Key priorities include:

• Reducing unintentional overdose deaths
• Increasing access to substance use disorder treatment
• Preventing youth substance use
• Increasing recovery support services
• Supporting responsible prescribing practices and statewide education efforts
• Promoting integrated harm reduction practices

“This funding is vitally important to supporting our ongoing work to prevent and reduce overdose deaths in our state,” said OhioMHAS Director LeeAnne Cornyn. “While the data is trending in the right direction, we’re not out of the woods yet. Fentanyl remains a serious threat to our communities, and that’s why we are committed to thoughtfully investing these resources in projects that make a real difference, and ultimately save lives.”