Kane County organizations continue to fight opioid overdoses with prevention grants
KANE COUNTY — In a statement released by the Kane County Government, it was announced that seven community organizations that serve Kane County residents will share $211,880 in grants that were awarded to them from the Kane County Health Department.
The grants will be used to continue efforts related to combating the opioid epidemic.
The following local organizations will use the grant money for continued overdose prevention and education efforts:
VNA Health Care in Aurora received $45,000; Lighthouse Recovery Inc. in St. Charles received $45,000; Association for Individual Development (AID) in Aurora received $33,680; Ecker Center for Behavioral Health in Elgin received $33,500; Path to Recovery Foundation in Naperville received $25,000; Southern Fox Valley EMS, Northwestern Delnor Hospital in Geneva received $23,500; and Kane County Pre-Arrest Diversion Program in Geneva received $6,200.
Funding for the grants comes from the Illinois Department of Human Services and will help support local efforts including a street outreach program targeted at homeless encampments, harm reduction supplies including Narcan, additional staffing for peer recovery, and support and education outreach programs at schools, shelters, hospitals, fire departments, and rehab centers, according to the Kane County Government.
“Harm reduction is a better term than just dealing with addiction, and all that we can do on the front end to make this more of a public health issue instead of a criminal issue I think is extremely important and necessary for society,” said Jarett Sanchez, chairman of the Kane County Public Health Committee.
Sanchez and the rest of the Public Health Committee affirmed in a resolution that “Kane County residents are overdosing and dying of opioid use at an alarming rate, and an effective overdose mitigation strategy is the engagement of community partners, including recovery centers and healthcare providers, in order to better serve the county’s residents.”
Michael Isaacson, assistant director of public health for the Kane County Health Department, noted that Kane County is fortunate to have a united front among multiple partners, which is necessary for the ongoing fight against the opioid crisis.
“With Chief Judge Clint Hull, Sheriff Ron Hain, and State’s Attorney Jamie Mosser we have so many pieces in place at the county right now that there is tremendous opportunity to really move things forward,” said Isaacson.
