Malden First Responders Awarded State Grant Money

MALDEN, MA - The city is one of 40 communities heavily impacted by the opioid epidemic, according to state officials, and local fire and police departments will receive $10,000 in state grant money to fight the local drug crisis in the community..

The grant money is intended to facilitate the purchasing, carrying and administering of the opioid overdose reversal drug, naloxone.

Gov. Charlie Baker and the state’s Department of Public Health recently announced that $700,000 will be awarded to police and fire departments in 40 communities heavily impacted by the Commonwealth’s opioid epidemic.

“This grant will help save more lives as our administration continues to pursue new and wide-ranging tools to combat the opioid epidemic, including the ability for medical personnel to intervene with those who have overdosed,”said Governor Baker in a statement.

Last year as part of comprehensive recommendations from Gov. Baker’s opioid working group, the administration established a bulk purchasing fund allowing first responders in municipal entities to access the state rate for naloxone purchases, and when available, receive an additional discount, according to state officials.

Only municipalities that met the following criteria were eligible to apply:

• an average annual rate of 6.0 and above of unintentional/undetermined opioid overdose deaths per 100,000 and
• an average annual count of unintentional/undetermined opioid overdose deaths of 4.0 and above (2009-2013).

Grants for $10,000 to $50,000 are being awarded to the following communities:

Attleboro, Barnstable, Beverly, Boston, Brockton, Chelsea, Chicopee, Everett, Fall River, Falmouth, Fitchburg, Framingham, Haverhill, Holyoke, Lawrence, Leominster, Lowell, Lynn, Malden, Medford, New Bedford, North Attleboro, Peabody, Pittsfield, Plymouth, Quincy, Revere, Salem, Saugus, Somerville, Springfield, Stoughton, Taunton, Waltham, Wareham, Westfield, Weymouth, Winthrop, Woburn, Worcester

The award amounts were calculated by taking the total allocation ($700,000) and dividing it among the applicants based on the population of the municipality.

A full update on the Governor’s Opioid Working Group’s progress can be found at: www.mass.gov/statewithoutstigma.

Information: Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker and Massachusetts DPH