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Youth and Family Services to Receive Opioid Funding

At a Board of Selectmen (BOS) meeting on Dec. 12, the board authorized using part of the money received in a federal opioid settlement for Westbrook Youth and Family Services (WYFS) to purchase medication boxes and educational programs about addiction.

The BOS approved the purchase of 15 boxes at $32 a box, while each education program is $100 per hour.

Mallory DePalermo, the Program Coordinator for WYFS, explained that the boxes would be available for free at WYFS.

“Anyone who wants one can come get a box,” DePalermo said.

DePalermo described the boxes as “mini safes” that have locks on them to keep prescription medication safe from children.

As for the education programs, DePalermo said the details are still being ironed out, but the department will be partnering with Project Courage, an Old Saybrook-based substance abuse center. The presentations may cover topics such as how to get help for a family member with an addiction issue, how to use Narcan, and how to help someone avoid relapsing, according to DePalermo.

“We’re very grateful to the BOS for giving us this funding. This is a big problem along the shoreline, and hopefully this will help,” DePalermo said.

According to statistics from the state of Connecticut, the number of lives lost to unintentional drug overdoses in Connecticut in 2022 was 1,452. Those statistics show a significant increase in deaths from 2012 to 2022, by 306%, and 92% of all overdose deaths were attributed to an opioid, with fentanyl being the most popular.

However, there was one gleam of optimism in the starling stats. Overdose deaths decreased by 4.7% in 2022 compared to 2021, hopefully signaling a turn in the battle against the drugs.

The money stems from a major settlement finalized in early 2022. Four companies — Johnson & Johnson, AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health, and McKesson – agreed to pay $26 billion to settle thousands of lawsuits brought against the companies that alleged their business practices have contributed to the opioid epidemic across the nation. The four companies admitted to no wrongdoing in the settlement.