PBN: R.I. gets $11.56M in federal funding for opioid response efforts

PROVIDENCE – Rhode Island has been awarded $11.56 million in federal funding to help save lives and better connect residents struggling with opioid use disorder to treatment, recovery and prevention service, the state’s congressional delegates announced Thursday. 

The three-year grant, funded through the federal State Opioid Response Grant and administered by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, helps states strengthen prevention, treatment, recovery and harm reduction programs in their communities.  

Rhode Island can use the federal grant to fund a wide range of actions, including expanding access to the opioid overdose-reversal drug naxolone – better known by its brand-name Narcan – along with recovery support for those dealing with addiction. 

“Too many families have lost loved ones to overdoses and opioid addiction has shattered too many lives,” said Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I. “This federal funding will strengthen the state’s coordinated response to combat addiction, reduce overdose rates and put recovery within reach for more Rhode Islanders.” 

The federal funding aims to connect more Rhode Islanders to services and help prevent opioid addiction statewide; reduce the number of prescription drug/opioid overdoses; and increase access and reduce unmet needs through prevention, treatment and by gathering data on addiction treatment and recovery resources. 

The state has also used federal funding to improve data collection and tracking mechanisms to gauge the effectiveness and reach of its initiatives, creating a public dashboard at PreventOverdoseRI.org. 

“The opioid crisis has taken a heartbreaking toll on families from all walks of life in every corner of our state,” said Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I. “We need to ensure treatment, prevention and recovery services are reaching the Rhode Islanders who need them.”