The Seaford Police Department applies for $557 thousand in funding from the Prescription Opioid Settlement Distribution Commission.
If the grant is approved, it would fund the collective program between Seaford PD, the Community Collaboration of Delaware and the University of Delaware Center for Drug and Health Studies.
Seaford police chief Marshall Craft said with this funding, the Seaford Community Opioid Use Disorder/Substance Use Disorder Response Initiative could make real change in Sussex County.
“In particular, I think if you look at the stats, Western Sussex in the Seaford area is one of the areas that have a really high volume of this type of problem with overdoses, substance use disorders, mental health, which leads to homelessness and other types of concerns,” Craft said. “And we have little to no housing available or little resources as well in this particular region or area.”
Craft said this effort is really about getting help to people struggling with substance use disorders and reducing calls for services.
“And when folks are on drugs and these types of symptoms are co-occurring with mental health, they can become sometimes violent – not always. So ultimately, hopefully this would also improve officer safety and really benefit everybody, the community as a whole.”
Craft said his plan is to provide training to officers through the program because they are often the people who respond to reports of overdoses.
Delaware’s Division of Substance Abuse and Mental Health has trauma-informed resiliency education that Craft said he plans to implement in Seaford.
Craft said the Commission could decide to award the full amount he applied for, part or none of the funding.
If approved, the funds would go toward three staff members – two peers and a peer supervisor – from the Community Collaboration, employee costs and office space. The staff’s role would be to make contact with people who have substance or opioid use disorder and provide referral services.
It would also cover wound care kits, Narcan and other resources for community members, as well as paying UD, which will be collecting data on the program.
Craft expects to hear back on the funding decision in August.
