Last year, 226 people here in Hamilton County died from drugs, according to the County’s Health Department.
Seventy-two percent of those drug-related deaths involved fentanyl, which can be up to 50 times stronger than heroin - often mixed with other drugs.
Hamilton County is among local governments here in Tennessee receiving money to fight the opioid epidemic - and it is implementing a strategy on how and where to spend those dollars.
One piece of that strategy: 500-thousand dollars in grants to community organizations for addiction treatment.
Recently, the county opened up applications for its “Innovative Response to Opioids Grants” - and the application deadline is this Friday, October 27th.
Alexa LeBeouf is Hamilton County’s Director of Economic and Community Development.
Claire McVay is Chief of Staff for Hamilton County Mayor Weston Wamp.
