SHARE

Murphy Applauds Connecticut's Efforts To Fight Opioid Crisis

FAIRFIELD COUNTY, Conn. -- U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), a member of the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, applauded Wednesday recent efforts in the state to combat the growing heroin and opioid epidemic.

Chris Murphy

Chris Murphy

Photo Credit: File

These efforts include Gov. Dannel Malloy’s proposal to increase access to naloxone and establish the new public-private “Connecticut Family Stability Pay for Success Project” to expand in-home treatment programs for families struggling with substance abuse.

Murphy also reiterated his call on Congress to pass his bipartisan Mental Health Reform Act, which will expand federal resources and improve coordination for mental health and substance abuse treatment programs. Deaths caused by drug overdoses have skyrocketed in Connecticut. In 2015, more than 720 Connecticut residents died from drug overdoses, including 415 heroin-related deaths.

“Big cities and small towns across Connecticut have come to know all too well the devastation of addiction. The numbers are stark, but it’s the stories behind those statistics — the loved ones lost, the families torn apart, and the communities struggling to heal—that make it clear we just can’t wait any longer,” Murphy said. 

Murphy’s Mental Health Reform Act will make critical reforms to address a lack of resources, enhance coordination and develop meaningful solutions to improve outcomes for families dealing with mental illness and substance abuse, including establishing an assistant secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Murphy introduced the bill with U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) after months of collaborating with Connecticut’s mental health professionals, policy experts, consumers and families.

to follow Daily Voice New Canaan and receive free news updates.

SCROLL TO NEXT ARTICLE