BOSTON, MA – Governor Charlie Baker, Lt. Governor Karyn Polito, and Secretary of Public Safety and Security Dan Bennett announced Monday the release of more than $2.5 million in federal grants to help District Attorneys, Sheriffs, and other criminal justice agencies strengthen and enhance their ongoing efforts to combat heroin and opioid abuse in Massachusetts.
Of interest to Wilmington, the Middlesex County Sheriff’s Office received $139,647.00 in grant funding.
“I want to thank Governor Baker and the Administration for their continued support of law enforcement efforts to address the opioid crisis,” said Sheriff Koutoujian. “Sheriff’s Offices are on the front lines of this epidemic every day – we’re constantly innovating in an effort to save lives – and this grant will help us support our nationally recognized addiction treatment programming.”
The Middlesex Sheriff’s Office has been a leader in the field of addiction recovery and funds from this grant award will allow for the expansion of the Medically Assisted Treatment and Directed Opioid Rehabilitation (MATADOR) Program, a unique opioid and heroin addiction treatment model. MATADOR incorporates the use of an injectable form of Naltrexone (a non-habit forming, long lasting medication which blocks the effects of opioids), substance abuse counseling/programming and continuity of care for participants upon return to the community.
Eligibility for MATADOR will expand with the awarding of this grant, allowing the Middlesex Sheriff’s Office to enroll more participants including females departing MCI-Framingham and those in the pre-trial population involved with the drug courts.
“Law enforcement is on the front lines of the opioid crisis and it’s incumbent on us to provide them with every available resource to save lives,” said Governor Baker. “These grants provide yet another tool for us to begin bending the trend of overdoses and deaths as we combat this epidemic.”
This competitive grant opportunity allows eligible state and county criminal justice agencies to solicit grant funding for services aimed at prevention, intervention, diversion, enforcement, and treatment. All proposals were required to include a law enforcement nexus and place a primary focus on targeting heroin and opioid abuse.
“These grant awards are great news for families across the state that have been negatively affected by drug use in their communities,” said Lt. Governor Polito. “The Massachusetts State Police and the Worcester County District Attorney’s Office will now be able to purchase an additional 1,100 doses of Naloxone (Narcan), which will help to reduce the number of overdose deaths associated with prescription opioid and heroin abuse.”
“The law enforcement leaders receiving these grants were selected for the innovative approaches they recommend, for their compassion, and for their commitment to addressing the devastating effects of the addiction crisis that has ruined and taken so many lives,” said Secretary Bennett.
These awards will complement the Governor’s Opioid Task Force recommendations by expanding access to services for medicated-assisted treatment, development of a youth drug prevention curriculum, dissemination of educational materials as part of a public awareness campaign, treatment beds, and training for law enforcement personnel.
Last year, Governor Baker filed legislation to provide medical personnel with the power to intervene with patients suffering from addiction, control the spread of addictive prescription opioids, and increase education about substance use disorder for providers and in the community. Over one hundred additional treatment beds have been made available across the Commonwealth, with more expected thanks to funding from this grant program.
More information about the Governor’s Opioid Task Force is available at: http://www.mass.gov/statewithoutstigma.
The agencies receiving a grant award from the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security under the “Heroin and Opioid Crime Reduction State Initiative” are as follows:
| Agency | Award Amount |
| Barnstable County Sheriff’s Department | $178,841.00 |
| Berkshire County Sheriff’s Office | $108,657.00 |
| Bristol County Sheriff’s Office | $237,820.00 |
| Essex County District Attorney’s Office | $145,743.00 |
| Essex County Sheriff’s Department | $157,134.00 |
| Franklin County Sheriff’s Department | $133,000.00 |
| Hampden County Sheriff’s Department | $188,841.00 |
| Hampshire Sheriff’s Department | $120,812.00 |
| Massachusetts Department of Correction | $115,000.00 |
| Massachusetts Parole Board | $136,609.00 |
| Massachusetts Department of State Police | $46,000.00 |
| Middlesex County Sheriff’s Office | $139,647.00 |
| Norfolk County District Attorney’s Office | $39,310.00 |
| Norfolk County Sheriff’s Department | $112,882.00 |
| Northwestern District Attorney’s Office | $86,860.00 |
| Plymouth County District Attorney’s Office | $165,904.00 |
| Suffolk County Sheriff’s Department | $100,883.00 |
| Worcester County-Middle District Attorney’s Office | $105,981.00 |
| Worcester County Sheriff’s Department | $189,968.00 |
(NOTE: The above press release contains information from press releases from Governor Baker’s Office and the Middlesex Sheriff’s Office.)
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