Grant to help opioid victims find jobs

State to get $4.7M from a national emergency fund

The federal government will provide $4.7 million to help people overcoming opioid addiction find work and stay employed.

“Each of us have witnessed the impact opioid addiction has upon our communities,” members of Connecticut’s congressional delegation said in a joint statement. “This grant will provide [ job training and counseling] that victims and their families need as they recover and transition into new jobs and careers.”

In addition to this grant, the state previously announced that it will received a combined $17 million in federal funds from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to address the crisis.

“The opioid epidemic has uprooted the lives of people from all socio-economic backgrounds, races, and ages,” Gov. Ned Lamont said in a written statement. “Addiction is an illness and not a moral failing, and we need to treat it as we would any other public health emergency.”

The funding comes through the federal Dislocated Worker Grant program, intended to respond to national economic events that cause mass unemployment. Since 2017, when the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services declared the opioid crisis to be a national public emergency, these grants could be used to fund programs combating addiction.

That year, almost 1,000 Connecticut residents died from opioid overdoses. Dr. James Gill, the state’s chief medical examiner, recently projected that almost 1,100 people would die of opioid overdoses in 2019, about a 500 percent increase from 2009.

Connecticut Department of Labor Commissioner Kurt Westby said in a statement that the grant will fund programs that provide concrete solutions for victims of the opioid crisis in need of employment. The department will use the funding to provide two main statewide initiatives, as well as regional ones.

One statewide program will place trained individuals in each of Connecticut’s American Job Centers to help people affected by the opioid crisis get employed. Six comprehensive centers are located in Bridgeport, Ham den, Hartford, Montville, New Haven and Waterbury. Thirteen affiliated centers are located throughout Connecticut.

“The peer counselors who will work at the American Job Centers and in the community will provide support services needed for those individuals to secure and maintain occupations that provide both a living wage and a solid direction forward,” Westby said.

The other statewide initiative will partner with employers to eliminate workplace stigma against opioid addiction and encourage them to hire those in recovery.

The advisory board for these initiatives will include representatives from over 12 organizations, including Connecticut ’s Workforce Development Boards, the Governor’s Task Force for Substance Abuse Disorders and Connecticut’s Department of Correction.