Support comes for Calgary community to help combat opioid crisis

Grant gives boost to opioid program New funding is now available to help members of Calgary’s Punjabi community deal with the opioid crisis. Kathy Le has more on where the money will go…

Health experts in Calgary’s south Asian community say the number of opioid-related deaths has increased and the province has committed funds to help them address the issue.

As of September, there have been 170 fentanyl-related deaths in the city, 25 of which happened in the northeast.

The province has provided a $560,000 grant to Punjabi Community Health Services that will enable them to hire two new case managers that can speak several south Asian languages.

The case managers will provide counselling and link patients to harm-reduction services and doctors.

Naloxone kits will also be distributed and community awareness workshops will set up to help members of the community to better understand addictions.

"Having programming that fits the cultural and linguistic needs of the minority population and being served in an area that's home to many south Asian families, I think that’s a major step forward,” said Rupinder Hehar, Punjabi Community Health Services.

Other community organizations can also apply for funding to help raise awareness and educate Albertans about the opioid crisis.

The deadline to apply for the grants is December 22^nd.

For more information, click HERE.