ADMH has been awarded two grants by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) to address Alabama’s opioid crisis:
The first grant is the State Opioid Response (SOR) grant which was enabled by the 21st Century Cures Act, and is based on Alabama’s opioid death rate and unmet need for opioid addiction treatment.
The second grant awarded is the MAT-PDOA (Medication Assisted Treatment-Prescription Drug and Opioid Addiction) grant which will address a targeted capacity expansion. SOR is a state wide initiative whereas MAT-PDOA will target citizens in both Jefferson and Walker Counties because they have a significantly higher opioid overdose and opioid overdose death rate per population. Both grants are dedicated to expansion and enhancing access to medication assisted treatment (MAT) services for persons with an opioid use disorder. Some of the goals include: improving public awareness of Alabama's opioid misuse and addiction crisis; increasing available treatment options; increasing the availability of Naloxone in unserved areas of the state; decreasing illicit opioid drug use at six month follow up; and decreasing the use of prescription opioids in a non-prescribed manner at six month follow up.