{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://amo.house.gov/press-release/reed-whitehouse-amo-smiley-highlight-federal-funding-for-city-of-providence-to-combat-opioid-crisis", "Reed, Whitehouse, Amo, Smiley Highlight Federal Funding for City of Providence to Combat Opioid Crisis", "2024-10-31", "2024", "2024-10", "Democrat", "House", "RI", "Gabe Amo", "A000380", "amo.house.gov", "amo", "https://amo.house.gov/press-releases", "scraper", "Providence, RI \u2013 U.S. Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse and Congressman Gabe Amo joined with Mayor Brett Smiley and SAMHSA Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use Miriam Delphin-Rittmon to highlight a new $2.3 million federal First Responders - Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (FR-CARA) grant to support the City\u2019s comprehensive strategy to improve first responders\u2019 ability to save lives. Whitehouse authored CARA, which is the primary law guiding the federal response to the opioid epidemic.\n\n\u201cTo effectively combat the opioid crisis we must invest in coordinated strategies that ensure people can easily access help and support services. Senator Whitehouse has been a tremendous leader on this issue in Congress and I\u2019m proud to work alongside him and our colleagues in the delegation to deliver this federal funding for Providence. This $2.3 million investment will help Providence\u2019s first responders save lives and assist residents who are struggling with addiction,\u201d said Reed.\n\n\u201cRhode Islanders had a big hand in helping draft my CARA law, so it\u2019s great to see this federal funding from CARA providing a big boost for Providence\u2019s first responders, who are on the front lines every day responding to Rhode Island\u2019s opioid epidemic,\u201d said Whitehouse. \u201cI applaud Mayor Smiley\u2019s efforts to combat the epidemic in our Capital City and help connect Rhode Islanders with the support they need to get on the noble road to recovery. There is hopeful news that our efforts to save lives are working.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe opioid epidemic has touched the lives of families in Rhode Island and across the country, and we need to ensure first responders are equipped with the resources they need to save lives and support those in recovery,\u201d said Magaziner. \u201cThis federal funding will help reduce overdoses, expand access to lifesaving services and treatments, and build a safer, healthier Rhode Island.\u201d\n\n\u201cThanks to champions like Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, overdose deaths in Rhode Island have been decreasing by twice the national average in recent years,\u201d said Amo. \u201cThis federal grant for the Providence Overdose Prevention Project will support these efforts by uplifting the first responders and community members who play a vital role in the prevention, treatment, and recovery of opioid use disorder.\u201d\n\nThe City of Providence will use the federal funding from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) to advance the Providence Overdose Prevention Project, a comprehensive strategy to improve first responders\u2019 ability to save lives. The program increases the capacity of Emergency Medical Services staff and community members to use evidence-based practices to reduce overdoses and connect individuals with necessary supports. The City will also work to reduce fatal overdoses through education and prevention programs and increase naloxone distribution within the community to help lower nonfatal overdose rates.\n\n\u201cWe\u2019re thankful for the leadership and advocacy of our federal delegation in securing this vital funding through the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act,\u201d said Smiley. \u201cThis grant will strengthen Providence\u2019s efforts to combat the opioid crisis by expanding life-saving resources for our first responders and connecting those in crisis to the support they need. By working together, we\u2019re building a healthier, safer city for all.\u201d\n\n\u201cWe commend the first responders who are committed to saving lives day and day out,\u201d said Miriam E. Delphin-Rittmon, Ph.D., HHS Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use and the leader of SAMHSA. \u201cThis funding will help Providence EMS connect those at highest risk of overdose to lifesaving services, including treatment, harm reduction services, and recovery supports.\u201d\n\nDeaths from accidental overdoses decreased by 7.3 percent last year in Rhode Island, the first time in four years that the number had gone down, according to the Governor\u2019s Overdose Task Force. Rhode Island\u2019s decrease in overdose deaths, from 436 in 2022 to 404 in 2023, was over twice the national average, with America experiencing a 3 percent decrease in 2023. According to preliminary data from the Rhode Island Department of Health, 178 individuals died from accidental overdoses in the first nine months of this year, a significant decrease from the same point in 2023.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-07T21:57:20Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://amo.house.gov/press-release/reed-whitehouse-amo-smiley-highlight-federal-funding-for-city-of-providence-to-combat-opioid-crisis"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.7523910608142614, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}