Washington, DC - The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) Director Jim Carroll announced $4.5 million in grants to help local programs counter the effects of the opioid crisis in their communities.

ONDCP, the University of Baltimore, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) collaboratively selected 14 programs in areas of the United States to receive “Combating Opioid Overdose through Community-Level Intervention (COOCLI)” grants.

“Since day one, the Trump Administration’s whole-of-government approach has aimed to accomplish one overarching goal: prevent our friends, family members, and neighbors from dying of a drug overdose. To meet this challenge, we must invest in innovative programs that share the same mission in every corner of our country. The grants announced today will provide resources to both increase research and foster collaboration between law enforcement and public health agencies, which is so critical to reversing the pattern of addiction,” ONDCP Director Jim Carroll said.

The projects, which will be overseen by the University of Baltimore, will employ a range of approaches such as identifying individuals most at risk of overdosing, supporting medication-assisted treatment in jails, collaborating with public safety agencies, and connecting high-risk pregnant and postpartum women and their children to opioid use disorder care coordination services.

“While we are making headway with our efforts to combat the opioid crisis, there is still much to be done. These COOCLI grants are a great way of encouraging innovative ideas to meet this challenge. What we learn through these incubator projects will help us to develop large scale solutions. I want to applaud ONDCP and CDC for their vision and leadership, and congratulate this year’s award winners. The University of Baltimore’s Center for Drug Policy and Enforcement is honored to administer this project,” Executive Director of the Washington/Baltimore HIDTA and the University of Baltimore’s Center for Drug Policy and Enforcement Thomas H. Carr said.

“Local communities are at the forefront in this fight to end the opioid overdose crisis,” CDC Director Robert Redfield, M.D. said. “CDC is committed to strengthening their capacity to work collaboratively with partners to develop innovative, community-based programs that save lives and help families recover.”

Funding will support 14 projects in 13 states, which are listed below.

• Colorado – Central Colorado Area Health Education Center
  • Colorado AmeriCorps VISTA Community Opioid Response Program (VISTA CORP)
• Connecticut – City of Waterbury Police and Health Department
  • Waterbury’s “Warm Hand-Off” Program (WHOP)
• Florida – Pinellas County
  • The Pinellas County Homeless Overdose Mitigation & Engagement (HOME) Program
• Massachusetts – Casa Esperanza, Inc.
  • Salud Al Momento
• Montana – City of Bozeman
  • Alternative Therapies Pilot Program
• North Carolina – National Prevention Science Coalition to Improve Lives
• New York – Addiction Center of Broome County
  • The Peer Response Initiative 2.0
• New York – Health Research, Inc.
  • Public Safety Overdose Response Initiative (PSORI)
• Ohio – WestCare Ohio, Inc.
  • Bridging the Gap
• Pennsylvania – Prevention Point Philadelphia
• Tennessee – The University of Memphis
• Texas – Baylor College of Medicine
• Virginia – Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
• West Virginia – Berkeley County Schools
  • The Martinsburg Initiative