YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WKBN) — The fight against the opioid epidemic continues and now state funding is being funneled here locally to combat the crisis.
This week, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine is taking direct aim at the opioid epidemic with another round of funding to reduce overdose deaths.
“This funding is huge because it will help us with prevention dollars and it will also help pay for recovery housing,” said Duane Piccirilli with the Mahoning County Mental Health and Recovery Board.
The federal grant money will support programs that help prevent addiction and cover treatments and recovery services. More than $3 million will go to various organizations across the valley.
“It will allow us to provide some programming in Mahoning County and Trumbull County,” said Darryl Alexander.
Alexander is the Youngstown Urban Minority Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Outreach Program (YUMADOP) Executive Director.
Governor DeWine recently announced a significant decline in Ohio’s overdose deaths — a 9 percent drop in 2023.
“I think that’s evidence that all of this prevention and all of this support is paying off,” Piccirilli said.
Just two years ago, Mahoning County was ranked eighth in the state of Ohio for the number of lives lost to drug overdoses. So far through October, there have been 92 accidental overdose deaths in Mahoning County — down from 127 through the same time frame in 2023.
“I think it’s important that we just keep trying to fight the battle and a big key, one of the tools in the toolbox, is prevention — with young people especially,” said Piccirilli.
Piccirilli says recovery housing has been a key element in reducing those statistics and the state has taken a more proactive approach towards prevention but there’s still more room for improvement.
“We’re winning the battle but we can’t stop. We have to keep fighting, keep being persistent,” said Piccirilli.
