WLOX-TV Biloxi
 
Mississippi receives $3.58M grant to fight opioid crisis
 
By WLOX Staff
 
WASHINGTON, DC (WLOX) - The State of Mississippi has been awarded a $3.58 million grant to fight the opioid crisis, as announced by U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith.
 
The Mississippi Department of Mental Health Bureau of Alcohol and Drug Abuse Services will use the Opioid State Targeted Response (STR) grant to build on prevention and recovery strategies to reduce opioid abuse. The state received an initial $3.58 million STR grant in April 2017.
 
“The toll taken by opioid abuse is already too high in Mississippi. This grant funding will allow the state to expand prevention and treatment options, which should help ensure the opioid epidemic does not grow any worse in our state,” Hyde-Smith said.
 
STR grant funding is authorized under the 21st Century Cures Act and provided through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
 
The grants are intended to increase access to treatment, reduce unmet treatment needs, and support recovery activities in order to reduce opioid overdose-related deaths.  
 
Hyde-Smith was appointed to serve on the Senate Committee on Appropriations and its Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Subcommittee, which has funding jurisdiction over healthcare agencies involved in the national effort to combat the opioid epidemic.
 
In October, President Trump declared opioid misuse a national emergency.
 
Click HERE for additional information about the HHS efforts to combat the opioid crisis.

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