WESTFIELD – The Coalition for Outreach, Recovery, and Education (CORE) of Greater Westfield has received an $85,000 grant from Baystate Health to hire a recovery coach for survivors of opioid overdoses.

CORE Director Kathi Cotugno said July 21 that the Better Together Grant was provided by Baystate Health as part of a provision in their capital plan to renovate their facilities. She said that part of the requirement for Baystate Health when they receive money to redo their infrastructure is to, in some way, give back to the community. In this case, Cotugno said, they chose to help fight the opioid crisis.

The $85,000 grant will cover a three-year period. Cotugno said that she had coordinated with the Mental Health Association to write the grant.

The recovery coach that has been hired through the grants funds will work with Westfield’s Drug Addiction Recovery Team (DART) and the police department’s Community Service Unit to visit overdose survivors to follow up with them after their overdose. CSU and DART provide overdose survivors with resources to seek treatment for their substance abuse disorder.

“That recovery coach, our hope is that they will connect to a person and be able to hopefully do a weekly check in to visit, help them find resources, doctors, and start to work where they are at,” said Cotugno.

Cotugno said overdoses have increased significantly in recent months, locally and across the country. She said overdose rates have risen by approximately 30 percent nationally.

“July was a tough month,” said Cotugno.

She said the general isolation caused by the pandemic caused the surge in overdoses and opioid use in general. The lack of available in-person resources for opioid users, she said, contributed as well.

“This grant has coordinated some key pieces for us in the DART program,” said Cotugno, “It has been growing and now we have the recovery coach on staff.”