MACOMB COUNTY, Mich. – The Macomb County Community Mental Health (MCCMH) announced Monday the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services has provided $1.3 million in funding for substance abuse prevention and treatment initiatives.
The funding is set to be led by MCCMH's Macomb Office of Substance Abuse (MCOSA). The funds will be used for overdose education, the distribution of Naloxone, -- an opioid antidote that blocks the effects of an opioid overdose -- medication assisted treatment enhancements, motivational interviewing and utilizing peer recovery coaches in three area hospital emergency departments, according to a press release.
"Macomb County is set to hit its sixth straight year of increasingly fatal drug overdoses," said MCCMH executive director John Kinch. "This funding will allow us to focus on specific aspects of substance abuse and hopefully make a real impact."
The funding will be allocated for the rest of the year and through April 2019.
"The opioid problem continues to ravage our communities and claim our loved ones," said director of MCOSA Randy O'Brien. "The introduction of Fentanyl into the mix has made it even more deadly. We need to use everything available to make impact on the problem."
Six substance use disorder providers will be involved with implementing the new initiatives.