Over $160K Awarded To Montgomery County To Fight Opioid Abuse

BETHESDA, MD — Montgomery County will receive more than $160,000 in grant money from the state's Opioid Operational Command Center and Emergency Management Agency to help fight the opioid and heroin epidemic, officials announced Monday.

"We have passionate individuals working on the opioid and substance use crisis in every corner of Maryland," said Maryland Department of Health Secretary Robert R. Neall. "Our success in tackling this problem depends on our ability to support these individuals and their local networks. The OOCC's grant awards provide exactly the type of support that is required to empower those who know best what their communities need."

The funding for FY 2021 is part of a $50 million, five-year initiative launched by the state in 2017. Individual jurisdictions and programs across the state can receive funding through competitive and block grants.

"Maryland's sustained commitment to addressing the opioid and substance use crisis is more important now than it has been ever before," said Steve Schuh, executive director of the OOCC. "In a challenging environment, these grants are among the most powerful tools at our disposal."

Through block grants, Montgomery County will receive $160,552 to:

• Support public-awareness campaigns and community forums on opioid and substance misuse
• Increase community and police access to Naloxone, an opioid overdose-reversing drug
• Support Stop Triage Engage Educate Rehabilitate (STEER), a pre-booking law enforcement program
• Develop a centralized database for treatment and peer support services

Grants will also be going to a number of other programs in jurisdictions across the state.

Here's what each jurisdiction is getting:

• Allegany County - $112,811
• Anne Arundel County - $274,618
• Baltimore City - $836,618
• Baltimore County - $400,860
• Calvert County - $108,005
• Caroline County - $91,664
• Carroll County - $137,803
• Cecil County - $136,842
• Charles County - $108,646
• Dorchester County - $91,664
• Frederick County - $145,813
• Garrett County - $87,499
• Harford County - $164,718
• Howard County - $120,501
• Kent County - $88,460
• Prince George's County - $185,544
• Queen Anne's County - $93,586
• Somerset County - $89,742
• St. Mary's County - $112,491
• Talbot County - $93,266
• Washington County - $151,260
• Wicomico County - $111,209
• Worcester County - $95,829