Having served as a resource for the addicted to begin their difficult road back from drug and alcohol dependence, Elk Grove Village Cares enters its fifth year with the continuing support from the Village, substance abuse counselors, health care providers, residents, and grant-making authorities.
Elk Grove Village Cares, a program launched by Village officials in 2018 that connects those suffering from the disease of addiction to treatment, has received its largest-ever grant that will go toward covering the treatment costs for program participants who either lack proper health insurance or other resources to pay for treatment.
The $151,000 renewal award is the fourth Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority (ICJIA) grant Elk Grove Village Cares has been awarded since the Village launched the program in 2018. It is also the largest ICJIA grant received to date. In total, the Elk Grove Village Cares program has been awarded nearly $2 million in grant funding.
The grant will enable Elk Grove Village Cares to continue its partnerships with treatment providers—Gateway Foundation, Leyden Family Services, Symetria, and A Bridge Back.
The grant comes at a time when the national opioid epidemic is becoming more and more urgent by the day. Earlier this month, the Center for Disease Control announced that opioid abuse claimed the lives of more than 108,000 Americans last year. That figure represents a 15 percent increase in opioid-related deaths compared to 2020.
“When we launched this program, we set out to remove the barriers that exist between people needing help and people actually getting it,” said Elk Grove Village Mayor Craig Johnson. “And, by that measure, we have succeeded. We’ve made getting treatment more accessible. But we know tackling this problem requires a sustained, long-term commitment. That’s why we’re in this for the long-haul. With support from grantors and from our board and from our treatment partners, we will continue to do whatever we can to save lives, support the addicted, and be a resource to their families.”
The goals of Elk Grove Village Cares include reducing the number of opioid-related deaths and overdoses in Elk Grove Village; providing more “points of entry” for people suffering from addiction; helping them access the resources they need to begin the very difficult work of recovery; establishing and strengthening community-based resources for those in recovery and their family members; and educating residents about the disease of addiction.
Under the initiative, anyone seeking treatment for their addiction can seek it through the Elk Grove Village Police Department. Those seeking help will not face arrest. Rather, police officers and counselors will connect individuals to nearby treatment programs.
Since June 2018, Elk Grove Village Cares has served as an important link on the path to recovery for individuals in need, making 104 total connections to partnering treatment programs.
