782
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services will award $1 million in grants to combat opioid abuse in Pinellas County, Congressman Charlie Crist announced last week.
The grants, worth $499,999 and $525,000, will be awarded respectively to the Pinellas County government and the Westcare Foundation to increase the availability of Naloxone. Opioid overdoses rose by nearly 50% in Pinellas County last year.
“That’s an overdose every 26 hours,” Crist said. “It’s clear that the isolation and turmoil of the COVID-19 crisis have pushed more of our neighbors into the spiral of addiction, leaving devastated family and friends behind.”
– Kelly Hayes, The Tampa Bay 100