States, tribes get $1.5 billion to fight the opioid epidemic

State and tribal governments will receive more than $1.5 billion in federal funds to combat the opioid crisis, the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration announced Thursday.

The announcement comes as nationwide overdose rates dipped for the first time since 2020, dropping 10% from April 2023 to April 2024, according to federal data. It’s a welcome sign of progress to federal, state and local governments.

“This [data] tells us that we must remain focused on addressing the overdose epidemic and saving lives, and we must continue to build a village that supports individuals struggling with substance use disorder and their families,” said Miriam Delphin-Rittmon, SAMHSA administrator and assistant secretary for mental health and substance use at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, on a call with reporters Thursday.

While the reasons for the decline of drug-related deaths is hard to pinpoint, public health experts have pointed to governments’ efforts to increase the availability of medications to treat substance use disorders and overdoses, public health initiatives like treatment programs and increased outreach, and awareness efforts to educate the public on the dangers of drugs like opioids. 

Most of the new federal funds—$1.49 billion—will support states’ mitigation efforts like increasing residents’ access to medications for opioid use disorder through, for example, mobile clinics or telehealth services. The remaining funds are allocated for tribal governments and technical assistance for grant recipients to carry out their opioid response programs.

Many of the awardees focus on teens and young adults. The New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services, for instance, will use $29 million in federal funds for substance use preventative messaging and education initiatives targeting teens and young adults, building its opioid response workforce development efforts and offering those seeking treatment services like childcare and transportation, according to the SAMHSA grant dashboard. The department aims to service more than 6,300 people through September 2029.

States can also use funds to expand or improve their addiction prevention, treatment and recovery strategies, such as installing public health vending machines or distributing naloxone, an opioid overdose reversal medicine.  

Having naloxone available in public settings like schools or government housing facilities is a significant part of addressing the opioid crisis, Delphin-Rittmon said, to ensure people who use opioids or who are around others using the substance have quick access to the life-saving medicine. She pointed to Michigan’s syringe service program, which distributed nearly 69,000 naloxone units and fentanyl test strips in fiscal year 2022 with the help of state opioid program grants. As a result, Delphin-Rittmon said the state saw at least 2,241 overdose reversals statewide.

Under the grant program, tribal programs will receive $63 million to mitigate opioid overdoses and substance use disorders. The funds will also help increase tribes’ access to medications for opioid use disorders and support addiction prevention and treatment.

Tribal communities have higher rates of overdose deaths than any other racial or ethnic group in the U.S. In 2022, non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native people died from overdoses at more than five times the rate of other Americans.

In Tulare County, California, the Tule River Indian Health Center is planning to use $250 million in federal funds over the next five years to hire a Tule River tribal member with lived experience with opioid use disorders to work as a peer recovery specialist in the community. The specialist, according to the SAMHSA grant announcement, will serve as a mentor to support individuals through their treatment and recovery journeys.

The health center will also use the grant funds to hire a substance abuse counselor who will assess clients’ eligibility for substance use disorder medications, develop treatment plans and provide counseling services.

An additional $18.5 million will support training and technical assistance services. For the next three years, the Opioid Response Network will help grant awardees improve community outreach efforts, address stigma among opioid response workers and explore evidence-based strategies to reduce opioid use and overdoses, among other efforts.

The funds will be distributed through SAMHSA’s tribal opioid response program and state opioid response programs, which launched in 2018. Between September 2021 and September 2022, the grants helped more than 177,000 people receive treatment for an opioid use disorder and another 480,000 people receive recovery support services, according to a SAMHSA statement.

Previous grantees reported “less depression, less anxiety, fewer suicide attempts and increased abstinence from alcohol and drug use” among individuals served by state and tribal opioid response programs, Andrea Palm, deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, said Thursday. The grant-funded programs have helped people with substance use disorders obtain stable housing, build social connections and seek educational opportunities.

“We are so appreciative of the work being done around the country using [tribal and state opioid response] funds,” Delphin-Rittmon said. “Losing one life is too many.”