Bayamon Community Opioid Overdose and Crime Reduction Initiative

The Comprehensive Opioid, Stimulant, and Substance Abuse Program (COSSAP) was developed as part of the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA) legislation. COSSAP’s purpose is to provide financial and technical assistance to states, units of local government, and Indian tribal governments to develop, implement, or expand comprehensive efforts to identify, respond to, treat, and support those impacted by illicit opioids, stimulants, and other drugs of abuse.

The objective of Category 1 is to encourage and support the development of comprehensive, locally driven responses to opioids, stimulants, and other substances that expand access to supervision, treatment, and recovery support services across the criminal justice system; support law enforcement and other first responder diversion programs for nonviolent drug offenders; promote education and prevention activities; and address the needs of children impacted by substance abuse.

This project serves the Bayamon population of approximately 207,960. Its primary deliverables include planning documents for information sharing, naloxone deployment and training, public safety and K-12 schools education and early threat detection, Safe Community response initiatives, and treatment outreach improvements to support high-impact overdose victims such as homeless individuals, veterans, and youths. For priority considerations, the applicant meets the criteria for an above 20 percent high-poverty area, as U.S. Census data indicates Bayamon's poverty rate is 37.4 percent.

CA/NCF