WINDHAM — Connecting people living in the high elevations of western Greene County to addiction treatment and other health care and social services will get easier in the coming weeks.
Mountain Top Cares Coalition in Maplecrest has been awarded a $150,000 grant from the Foundation for Opioid Response Efforts, a national organization focused on ending the opioid epidemic in the United States.
The Foundation announced grants totaling $2.2 million for community-based organizations across the nation. Mountain Top Cares Coalition is one of only 15 organizations out of 428 applicants nationwide selected to receive an award.
“This assistance and support of our mission will have a great impact on our ability to provide services to our community,” said Patrick Magee, executive director of Mountain Top Cares Coalition. “These efforts will help us support our clients.”
Community-based organizations such as Mountain Top Cares Coalition play a key role in battling opioid use disorder and the overdose epidemic in Greene County, but the rural organizations are often underfunded and understaffed.
Overdose fatalities increased by more than 30% from 2019 to 2020, according to a 2022 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report. For the first time in modern history, annual overdose fatalities surpassed 108,000 during the 12-month period ending in February 2022.
“Beyond these statistics are individuals, families and communities who need help and support,” said Dr. Karen A. Scott, president of the Foundation for Opioid Response Efforts. “Changes in policies related to opioid use disorder have led to some improvements, but the level of need continues to grow, and services are failing to keep up with demand.”
The Foundation is funding community-based organizations like Mountain Top Cares Coalition because they best understand the needs of their communities and the initiatives that will have the most impact, Scott added.