Bexar County is receiving more than three million dollars in federal grants to help the county deal with the deadly opioid epidemic, News Radio 1200 WOAI reports.
The funds will be used to help those addicted to painkillers to break the habit, and to help fund the Family Drug Court, a unique system that specifically helps mothers and those with mental illnesses kick drug habits and get back on their feet.
"We are putting families back together, and we are very successful in recidivism," said State District Judge Peter Sakai, who is the judge of the court.
The grants will also help pay for a program announced last week, which will allow first responders, police, and deputies to carry the drug Noxolone, which is effective in reversing opioid overdoses. The drug has become more expensive as the opioid addiction crisis worsens.
Sakai says the key to dealing with drug addiction is not simply 'hard time' but lending a helping hand
."We basically fix the problems that cause many of these dysfunctional families," Sakai said. "These parents and these families don't come back into our system."
The money is divided up into several grants, which will go toward the Bexar County Opioid Prevention and Intervention Program, the Bexar County Women's Mental Health Court, and the Bexar County Family Drug Court.