Elk Grove Village's groundbreaking opioid initiative earns $46,000 grant to bolster treatment for those afflicted with opioid addiction, including the uninsured

Elk Grove Village Mayor Craig Johnson today announced that Elk Grove Village Cares, a comprehensive, community-based initiative to take on the opioid epidemic, will be able to provide addiction treatment to more people, including the uninsured, and step up public education efforts thanks to a $46,000 grant awarded by the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority.

The grant is part of the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority's (ICJIA) Community-Law Enforcement Partnership for Deflection and Substance Use Disorder Treatment Act Program (CLEP). According to the ICJIA, CLEP provides law enforcement officers critical funding to facilitate connections to community-based behavioral health interventions that provide substance use treatment, help reduce drug usage, reduce drug overdose incidences and death, reduce criminal offending and recidivism, and help prevent arrest and conviction records from destabilizing health, families, and opportunities from community, citizenship, and self-sufficiency.

The bulk of the grant funds, which is officially in the amount of $46,253, will go toward providing treatment to those seeking to access opioid addiction counseling and treatment, especially those whose insurance plans may not cover treatment or for individuals who have no insurance at all. A fraction of the grant will support development and distribution of public education materials.

"In many ways, Elk Grove Village Cares is about breaking down the barriers people encounter when seeking treatment," said Elk Grove Village Mayor Craig Johnson. "We've made it easier for addicts and their loved ones to seek out and receive the help and support they need. We've worked to remove the stigma around the disease of addiction, that, unfortunately, gets in the way of people fully understanding this epidemic. This grant will undoubtedly help us get more people in need of help into recovery programs without adding additional burdens on our local taxpayers."

Village and police officials launched Elk Grove Village Cares last summer as a comprehensive, community-based strategy to address the nation's top public health crisis, the disease of opioid addiction.

Elk Grove Village Cares goals include reducing the number of opioid related deaths and overdoses in Elk Grove Village, providing more "points of entry" for people suffering from addiction and help them access the resources they need to begin the very difficult work of recovery, establishing and strengthening community-based resources for those in recovery and their family members and educating residents about the disease of addiction.

Under the initiative, anyone seeking treatment for their opioid addiction can seek it through the Elk Grove Village Police Department. Those seeking help will not face arrest. Rather, police officers and counselors will connect individuals to nearby treatment programs. Other key components of Elk Grove Village

Since June, 2018, 14 individuals have sought and received treatment through Elk Grove Village Cares. Additionally, the Elk Grove Village Police Department is overseeing a program that places Narcan, overdose-reversing medication, in public spaces so citizens who encounter someone suffering an overdose can render aid easily and immediately. Currently, there are 19 locations where Narcan kits are available. Locations include government facilities, libraries, schools and private businesses.

And, efforts are underway to strengthen community support for addicts and their families. The Village has partnered with area churches and inner-faith organizations to establish group support meetings, for example.

"The funds we receive through this grant are critical to our efforts. But the grant itself is a validation of our comprehensive, community-based strategy to tackle this public health crisis," said Mayor Johnson. "The ICJIA grant is recognition that Elk Grove Village Cares is working and is heading in the right direction."