Helping to fight heroin

$4.8 million allocated for South Florida

South Florida is getting its share of $27 million to combat the opioid epidemic, which has killed more than 1,000 people in the past year.

The money — approved by late last year — will help provide much-needed treatment to people addicted to heroin, fentanyl and other opioids, said Heather Davidson, director of public policy and advocacy for the United Way of Broward County.

Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach and five other smaller southern Florida counties will share $4.8 million.

Florida will receive $27 million this year to provide medication-assisted treatment to addicts, increase the availability of the life-saving, overdosereversal drug naloxone and add new front-line employees to help people get clean.

Gov. Rick Scott expedited the release of the money when he declared heroin abuse to be a public health emergency earlier this month.

Medication-assisted treatment can help alleviate cravings, while not causing intoxication, Davidson said. Those drugs include methadone, VivCongress itrol and buprenorphine, commonly known by the brand name Suboxone.

“We are very grateful for this,” Davidson said. “It will definitely help many people, but just having access to Suboxone and Vivitrol is not the end all be all for what we need as a community to address the opioid epidemic.”

But Davidson said the funding isn’t sufficient to eliminate