12/16/16
by News Department on 12/16/16Wolf awards $$ for opioid rehab...
Governor Tom Wolf announced Thursday that the Department of Corrections has recently awarded $1.5 million to human service agencies serving 13 counties, including Schuylkill County, to provide Medication Assisted Treatment to offenders for substance abuse disorder.
The grants are aimed at reducing relapses and overdoses by providing Vivitrol, which blocks certain receptors to prevent a ‘high” and removes the craving for drugs or alcohol.
The funding targets counties – particularly in rural areas – with high overdose rates and offenders with substance abuse disorder in order to address the problem before it leads to more serious crime or overdose death.
The number of individuals entering state prisons with substance abuse disorder has doubled over the past 10 years. Roughly 68 percent of inmates have substance abuse problems.
The awards are expected to help more than 150 people fight opioid use disorder and re-enter the community as healthier and more productive citizens.
