The Milton Board of Health is thrilled to announce that it has secured a three-year grant from the Blue Hills Community Health Alliance to support the work of the town’s newly-established Milton Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition (“Coalition”). The grant, entitled MiltonCares, is in the amount of $110,000.00.

The Coalition was established this past year to address the prevention and treatment of dangerous and addictive substances such as illicit and prescription drugs and alcohol misuse in people of all ages and backgrounds.  Comprised of town leaders, employees, residents and those in recovery, the coalition invites anyone interested in working collaboratively to improve access to multi-lingual information and services to join the coalition by contacting the Milton Board of Health.  We encourage people of all ages, races and backgrounds to join this important community effort.

The MiltonCares grant will pay for technical assistance from public health professionals to help the Coalition plan and implement programs; the creation of a website; educational programs for youth, senior citizens and residents at large; producing informational materials and brochures in various languages; and training programs for town professionals. The grant was written by a town volunteer, and the Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital-Milton has agreed to serve as the grant’s fiscal conduit and provide other in-kind services to support this effort.

Kym Williams, from the Blue Hills Community Health Alliance said, “The proposal submitted by the Milton Board of Health clearly demonstrated a strong understanding of how to involve many different representatives from across the community in strategic planning and problem-solving. We’re looking forward to tracking their progress and hopeful that the model that is developed in Milton over the course of the 3-year funding period will be one that can be replicated in other communities in the future.

In addition to addressing substance abuse, the grant will allow the coalition to work on reducing stigma and increasing access to services regarding mental illness.  Like other cities and towns across the nation, Milton experiences challenges with substance abuse and mental health disorders. Massachusetts Department of Public Health data indicate that youth substance abuse treatment rates were 250% higher in Milton than the state, and that nearly 200 Milton residents were admitted to publicly funded facilities in 2012, with heroin and alcohol treatment rates higher than the state.

Among Milton elders, 12% reported excessive drinking and 17% were diagnosed with depression. “This is just the tip of the iceberg,” said Caroline Kinsella, director of Milton’s Public Health department. “We look forward to collecting even more robust data with this funding, and sharing it with the public so we can track the problems and create effective solutions together.  I am grateful for this opportunity to tackle a public health problem that is important to the town, and appreciative of our increasing coalition members who volunteer their time, commitment and knowledge to this effort,” she said.

For more information about MiltonCares, or if youwould like to join the coalition, please contact the Board of Health at ckinsella@townofmilton.org or call us at 617-898-4886.