All Efforts Will Address Opioid Use Crisis
Windsor, Conn. – CHR, the state’s most comprehensive non-profit behavioral healthcare agency, was recently awarded five federal grants for innovative prevention and treatment options to help people whose lives have been touched by mental illness, addictions, including opioid addictions, homelessness and trauma. CHR competed nationally for all of the awards, which together total more than $10 million over 5 years.
- CT First: The largest and most comprehensive award, totaling $4 million over two years, this initiative will propel CHR to become the first Certified Community Behavioral Health Center in Connecticut with expanded access to mobile crisis programs for children and adults; new primary care services in CHR’s Enfield office; wellness programming in CHR’s Manchester and Bloomfield locations; new smoking cessation programs; expanded open-access services for individuals with opioid use disorders; personalized services for veterans; and more.
- Griswold PRIDE: CHR secured a Drug Free Communities grant for Griswold PRIDE to continue and expand the grassroots work of this community coalition aimed at reducing and preventing youth substance use in Griswold, which has been hard hit by the opioid use epidemic. The grant is for $625,000 over five years.
- North Central CT Diversion Team: This innovative approach is the result of a partnership between CHR, the Town of Suffield Police Department and police departments in Windsor Locks, East Granby and East Windsor. Funding will allow a CHR crisis clinician to respond to calls with the police departments and divert individuals experiencing mental health or addiction-related crises from the criminal justice system and into appropriate care. The grant will also allow for increased training for police officers in crisis intervention strategies. The grant is for $1.56 million over five years.
- Compass Home: Recognizing the high rate of homelessness among men and women who seek substance use treatment, this program will link individuals with a range of services including housing assistance, recovery supports, medical care and more. The grant targets towns in northeastern Connecticut and is for $1.85 million over five years.
- Promoting Integrated Care: For this initiative, CHR partnered with Charter Oak Health Center and the state Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services. The funding will launch Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT), including personalized support services, at Charter Oak Health Center in Hartford for adults with opioid use disorders and is for $2.25 million over five years.
“We’re very proud of all five initiatives, each of which reflects CHR’s core mission and our commitment to help people of all ages achieve recovery, resiliency and optimal health. These programs also illustrate many of the strong partnerships CHR has forged in the communities we serve and our continued leadership in efforts to advance and improve healthcare for individuals whose lives have been touched by mental illness, addictions, trauma, homelessness and more,” said Heather M. Gates, President and CEO of CHR. “We are dedicated to be a leader regionally and nationally in behavioral healthcare innovations, especially in light of the opioid use crisis,” Gates added.
All five of the grants came from the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).
About CHR: CHR is a comprehensive, non-profit behavioral healthcare agency that offers a broad array of services for adults, children and families whose lives have been touched by mental illness, substance use, trauma and more. CHR has offices through eastern and central Connecticut and was named a Top Workplace for the last five years in a row. Learn more at www.chrhealth.org.