Colorado recently received $7.8 million in federal funding to help combat opioid addiction. The funding is part of $485 million in grants announced by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. 

The funding will be managed by the Colorado Department of Human Services’ Office of Behavioral Health. The Office of Behavioral Health is working with health systems, law enforcement, substance use providers, people in recovery and many others to fight the effects of addiction in our communities. The state will use these dollars to pay for medication-assisted therapy, family therapy, overdose reversal medications (naloxone), emergency room pilot studies, expansion of crisis services, training for primary care doctors and nurses, residential treatment and partnerships with law enforcement. 

"The Office of Behavioral Health continues to be concerned about the devastating effects of misuse of prescription pain medication and heroin addiction on individuals and our communities,” said Nancy VanDeMark, director of the Office of Behavioral Health. “This funding will enable communities to expand the treatment and support they provide to individuals addicted to opioids.” 

In 2015, 489 people died from an overdose of prescription opioids or heroin in Colorado. The state has the second-highest rate of misuse of prescription drugs in the country. 

The funding, which is the first of two rounds in the 21st Century Cures Act, is provided through the State Targeted Response to the Opioid Crisis Grants administered by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. The funding goes to all 50 states, the District of Columbia, four U.S. territories and the free associated states of Palau and Micronesia. States and territories were awarded dollar amounts based on rates of overdose deaths and unmet need for opioid addiction treatment. 

If you or a loved one needs treatment, go to linkingcare.org to find a substance use provider near you, or call 1-844-493-TALK (8255).