Detroit Evening Report: Michigan investing $10M to address overdose deaths, racial disparities
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Michigan will spend $10 million this year to address overdose deaths and racial disparities in overdose treatments.
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The state is expected to receive more than $800 million over 18 years as part of the $26 billion nationwide settlement with the three largest pharmaceutical distributors as well as opioid manufacturer Johnson and Johnson.
The Department of Health and Human Services says Michigan had one of the highest rates of overdoses in 2017 but has seen overall decreases in recent years. Still, last year Black residents overdosed at a rate two and a half times higher than White residents. In 2022, there were almost 3,000 overdose deaths in Michigan – 28% of whom were Black residents.
The Naloxone Direct Portal was launched in 2020 to provide the overdose reversal drug to community groups across the state for free. It has distributed more than 730,000 Naloxone kits and recorded more than 6,600 reversals since.
The Youth Connection in Detroit provides in-person and virtual trainings on administering Naloxone and distributes kits.
“Making sure a variety of community members know how to use and have access to naloxone is key to being able to address overdoses, which can happen in any setting,” said Dr. Grenae Dudley, president and CEO of The Youth Connection, in a statement. “Naloxone saves lives and we have received reports of 100 overdose reversals by participants of our trainings.”
For more information about The Youth Connection, visit theyouthconnection.org.
Other headlines for Friday, March 1, 2024:
- Part of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s fiscal year 2025 budget includes nearly $250 million for behavioral health services for Michigan families.
- Several Democratic lawmakers gathered in Washington D.C. on Thursday to plead with the Biden administration to broker a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.
- Former Congressman Justin Amash says he will run for Debbie Stabenow’s soon vacant Senate seat as a Republican.
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