Burns: $149,000 to help drug offenders break addiction

Program aims to lower opioid use in community

EBENSBURG, Feb. 10 – Continuing the fight to help drug offenders beat addiction and become productive members of society, state Rep. Frank Burns, D-Cambria, announced today that Cambria County was awarded a $149,000 state grant.

“As we continue to fight the opioid epidemic, it is critical that we help move people from addiction back into productive members of society where they have jobs and can contribute to the community,” Burns said. “We need an all-hands-on-deck approach to combatting this scourge, and this program is one way to help do that and help reduce opioid use in our communities.”

The grants will help Cambria County Prison and eight other corrections facilities across the state support Medication-Assisted Treatment Programs to increase opioid use disorder services to incarcerated individuals.

Over the course of this funding, all grantees will be invited to participate in a state-of-the-art learning collaborative with both in-person and webinar components organized on a monthly basis. Learning collaborative events will include guidance and resources on topics such as avoiding diversion, cognitive behavioral therapy, workflow and protocol development, and referral planning/reentry.

The grants are part of a $55.9 million federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration grant secured by Pennsylvania to bolster the state’s response to the prescription opioid and heroin epidemic.