GREENFIELD — Nearly $10 million in federal grant funding awarded to the Opioid Task Force of Franklin County and the North Quabbin Region and the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office will bolster a connected system of care for people struggling with addiction.
Roughly $6.2 million was allocated to the Opioid Task Force, while $3.75 million is heading to the Sheriff’s Office.
On Friday at the Franklin County Justice Center, Franklin County leaders, state Rep. Aaron Saunders, D-Belchertown, U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern and a representative of U.S. Sen. Ed Markey’s office gathered in the Jury Pool room to celebrate the grants, while also recognizing that this is not the finish line, but more the beginning.
“You’re doing some amazing work out here … it’s a model for the rest of the state,” McGovern said. “We are able to celebrate something extraordinary today.”
“The task force sets the standard for how the rest of the country should address substance use disorder,” said Jesse Lederman, regional director for Markey’s office, reading a statement from the senator.
The two grants received by the Opioid Task Force are from the Health Resources and Services Administration’s Rural Communities Opioid Response Program (RCORP) and the First Responders—Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (FR-CARA). Both grants last for four years, with the RCORP grant supporting the Rural Engagement and Substance-Use Treatment through Outreach, Recovery and Education (RESTORE) initiative with $750,000 annually, while the FR-CARA funding supports the Community Outreach, Network, Navigation, Engagement and Care Team (CONNECT) initiative, with $800,000 coming to the Opioid Task Force for each of the next four years.
“We’re far from hanging the ‘Mission Accomplished’ banner,” said Saunders, while also noting that “to spring forth real money … it’s a good day to celebrate.”
The RESTORE initiative emphasizes coordinated care, community-based outreach, data-informed planning, workforce development and stronger connections among the many community partners that are involved in this work. According to the Opioid Task Force, the approach of the initiative recognizes that residents of rural communities face systemic barriers in receiving addiction treatment, such as accessibility of transportation and a shortage of providers.
“We have a shared vision. … This really does take everybody, and it impacts everybody,” said Heather Bialecki-Canning, executive director of the North Quabbin Community Coalition. “We are all facing the same folks. The people are not different.”
The CONNECT initiative, meanwhile, focuses on strengthening overdose response and follow-up. Among other facets, the initiative supports overdose prevention education, and the distribution of and training related to overdose reversal medications.
Only 37 communities in the country received grant funding through the FR-CARA, with other Massachusetts municipalities including the cities of Northampton and Fall River, along with the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.
“Through this work, we break down these barriers,” said Dr. Allison van der Velden, CEO of the Community Health Center of Franklin County. “This funding will facilitate and accelerate the good work of the Opioid Task Force and [its] partners.”
The Sheriff’s Office received a five-year, $3.75 million grant, titled the Rural Jail-to-Community MOUD and Recovery Continuity Program. (MOUD stands for “medication for opioid use disorder.”) This effort, carried out in partnership with The Salasin Project, aims to expand access to medication for opioid use disorder for incarcerated individuals at the Franklin County Jail and House of Correction.
In addition, the Sheriff’s Office is aspiring to strengthen reentry services and care coordination for inmates using the grant, supporting them both at the House of Correction and post-release.
“I see these grants as a shared investment across our region,” interim Franklin County Sheriff Lori Streeter said. “Our staff and community partners make this possible.”
One of the main goals of all three grant programs is building a connected system of care, so that individuals don’t get lost in between all of the organizations that provide help to those facing addiction in the region.
“When we fund [these initiatives] … people get better. They have a future. Families stay together. There’s hope,” McGovern said. “You guys have put together an incredible team. … I am proud to continue being your ally in Congress.”
Since the Opioid Task Force was formed in September 2013, 304 people have died in Franklin County and the North Quabbin region from opioid overdose. Debra McLaughlin, coordinator of the Opioid Task Force, said that everything the task force does is in remembrance of those the community has lost.
“This has been an emotional experience. … I truly draw incredible inspiration from all of the leaders in this room,” McLaughlin said. “Behind every one of those numbers is a person. … All these grants that we work on together is dedicated to their memory.
“It’s not the finish line by any means,” McLaughlin continued.
