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$100,000 grant will help the uninsured access substance abuse treatment via Elk Grove Village Cares

Elk Grove Village Mayor Craig Johnson today announced that Elk Grove Village Cares is the recipient of a $100,000 Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority (ICJIA) grant that will allow the program to help uninsured individuals seeking substance abuse treatment get the help they need.

The bulk of the grant funds, which is officially in the amount of $101,459, will be used to support 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.

"Those suffering from the disease of addiction, be it opioids, narcotics or even alcohol, have enough barriers in their life already. Lack of insurance should not be a barrier for those seeking to change their lives and get the treatment they need so they can recover," said Mayor Johnson. "Every penny of this grant will help people access top quality treatment. The essence of Elk Grove Village Cares is getting people the help they need. This grant helps us continue to do that."

Elk Grove Village Cares has been financially supporting uninsured participants since the program began in June of 2018. Grant funds have provided financial support for 44 uninsured individuals who entered into a treatment program through Elk Grove Village Cares participants into treatment.

This is the third ICJIA grant Elk Grove Village Cares has been awarded to support treatment services, for a total of $208,379 in grants through the ICJIA. The program has also been awarded two community grants totaling $5,000 from Walmart, as well as a federal grant totaling $1,540,000 to support regional education and opioid overdose prevention through Elk Grove Village Cares. In total, Elk Grove Village Cares has been awarded over $1.7 million in grant funding since the program was launched in 2018.

"We're grateful for the work ICJIA is doing in support of our program. We're so proud to receive this grant funding because it validates the important work we're doing in the community to help those who need it most," said Mayor Johnson. "Additionally, when we can run the program successfully with grant funds, we're more able to re-prioritize local tax dollars to address other needs."

The grant will enable Elk Grove Village Cares to continue its partnerships with Gateway Foundation, Inc. and Leyden Family Services, Inc. to provide treatment services to anyone who comes to the Elk Grove Village Police Department seeking assistance.

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.

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.

Since June 2018, 55 individuals have sought and received treatment for substance addiction through Elk Grove Village Cares.

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