MAYVILLE — The Chautauqua County Department of Mental Hygiene has been awarded a $1 million Rural Communities Opioid Response Program Implementation grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration, an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

The Chautauqua Substance Abuse Response Partnership, established by the Chautauqua County Department of Mental Hygiene, is one of eighty groups from rural communities receiving RCORP-Implementation awards of $1 million each to implement a set of prevention, treatment, and recovery activities over three years.

The purpose of RCORP is to support treatment for and prevention of substance use disorder, including opioid use disorder, in rural counties at the highest risk for substance use disorder.

In late 2018, the Chautauqua County Department of Mental Hygiene was awarded a $200,000 RCORP Planning grant from HRSA.

This grant funding further supported the Countywide Alliance for Enforcement and Rehabilitation project activities and established the Chautauqua Substance Abuse Response Partnership, a collaboration of community agencies and service providers to address addiction in our county. CAER was formed in early 2018 by Chautauqua County Executive George Borrello to address rapidly-increasing opioid use across Chautauqua County. CAER’s goal is to bring all sectors of the community together to reduce the incidence and prevalence of opioid use disorder across the county.

“The Chautauqua County Department of Mental Hygiene is glad to be able to continue supporting CAER through the activities of the Chautauqua Substance Abuse Response Partnership,” said Patricia Brinkman, Chautauqua County Community Mental Hygiene Services director. “This project, supported by HRSA grant funds, will strengthen the efforts of CAER and will further support the collaborative work to combat the opioid crisis in the County.”

The Rural Communities Opioid Response Program is a multi-year initiative supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration to address barriers to access in rural communities related to substance use disorder, including opioid use disorder. RCORP funds coordinating community task forces like the Chautauqua Substance Abuse Response Partnership to enhance their ability to implement and sustain substance use disorder and opioid use disorder prevention, treatment, and recovery services in underserved rural areas.

These funds, which also include an evaluation of the grant activities, will strengthen rural communities’ capacity to provide needed substance use disorder prevention, treatment, and recovery services and build the evidence base for supports and services that are effective in rural settings.