I am extremely grateful for the one-year $500,000 grant extension, totaling $1.35 million for Milwaukee’s anti-overdose initiative from the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO).

When I initially founded the program, the initiative was granted $735,000, and the additional award of $500,000 will greatly benefit the fight against the opioid epidemic in Milwaukee and Milwaukee County.

The announcement of the extension of the grant through 2021 will also ensure the ability to help the Milwaukee Fire Department’s (MFD) Milwaukee Overdose Response Initiative (MORI) – which I sponsored – in gaining valuable resources to continue its almost daily work to combat the opioid epidemic.

By continuing to collaborate with community partners, I know MORI will be able to make an even greater impact on the opioid epidemic in Milwaukee County.

I know well how this positive development is needed to further combat the devastation that the opioid epidemic has caused to Milwaukee communities, and I am proud to have had a role in securing this grant funding to ensure we will remain in a strong position to help save lives.