New London ― Attorney General William Tong went to the city fire department’s North Station Wednesday morning to announce that an additional $13.5 million will be going to Connecticut cities and towns from last year’s $26 billion national opioid settlement.

Tong thanked the firefighters present at the station, who he said are on the “frontlines of the opioid and addiction crisis,” and taking a risk to be there for people in need.

He reminded everybody “this is not about the money. It is people suffering and struggling everyday in a lifetime battle with addiction.”

This is the second payment municipalities have received this year. The first payment of $11.1 million was received in July. The settlement money will support opioid treatment and prevention in the state.

The state is set to receive approximately $300 million over the next 18 years through the settlement with opioid distributors Cardinal, McKesson, AmerisourceBergen, and manufacturer Johnson & Johnson. Connecticut and other states and territories reached the agreement in 2021.

Of the state's funding, Tong said 15% will be direct payments to cities and towns, about 70% will go directly to the state to distribute and the last 15% will be managed by the state to cover costs such as those related to administering programs.

Tong said an advisory committee of state and local government leaders, health care professionals and advocates will decide where to allocate the settlement funds given to the state.

According to data from the Chief Medical Examiner, there were 1,531 confirmed overdose deaths in Connecticut in 2021, with an increase of 11.4% compared to the previous year. Of those overdose deaths, 93% involved an opioid and 85% involved fentanyl or a fentanyl-related substance.

Also in attendance at the news conference were city Mayor Michael Passero, the city’s Human Resource Director Jeanne Milstein, Fire Battalion Chief Jeffrey Rheaume, State Rep. Anthony Nolan, D-New London and members of the city’s Overdose Action Team.

At the start of the news conference, Milstein said when she was first hired in 2016, the mayor informed her that her first priority was addressing the opioid crisis in the city.

Milstein said the action team was created more than six years ago and consists of numerous non profit providers, police and fire departments, hospitals, state agencies, community members and people who have experienced addiction.

Created in 2018, New London CARES — or Coordinated Access, Resources, Engagement and Support is a part of the action team. CARES, developed by Ledge Light Health District and Alliance for Living in collaboration with the Yale School of Medicine, aims to provide resources and support for people living with a substance use disorder.

Trish Rios, a community health worker and peer navigator, has been with CARES since its inception. Rios said she has experience with addiction and has been in remission for years. Her drugs of use were heroine and cocaine.

Now helping others with addiction, Rios said the team of three navigators work to educate, provide Narcan trainings and transportation to treatments and more. She said they support people in their journeys― no matter what that looks like― “the good, bad and ugly.”

The City of New London received $16,000 from the initial $11 million in funding and is now set to receive $17,000 in the second round.

Passero said the initial payment was spent on naloxone supplies, better known for its brand name Narcan, used to treat narcotic overdoses in an emergency situation. He said the city will put the second round of funding and future ones in a special account to cover future costs. He added some of the settlement money is likely to help fund New London CARES.

“A dedicated fund is essential to ensure a sustainable revenue source to fund opioid related initiatives for years to come,” Passero said.

Since the start of this year, Rheaume said EMTs have responded to a total of 179 overdoses with 82 classified as opioid related in New London; and there have been 59 total doses of naloxone administered. He said there may be some incidents where an EMT cannot determine if opioids are a factor.

Rheaume said the number of people receiving naloxone prior to firefighters arriving has risen drastically from previous years. He said this shows CARES is effectively getting naloxone into the community.

In a news release Monday, Senate Republican Leader Pro Tempore Paul Formica, R-East Lyme, who represents New London, said he is deeply grateful to so many across the state for their work fighting the opioid epidemic, including the amazing efforts by New London's Overdose Action Team who work every day to save lives.

“This year Republicans and Democrats came together to pass legislation to safeguard settlement money to ensure it goes to fighting the opioid epidemic,” he said. “Last year, we worked together to pass a bipartisan bill to use the New London peer navigator model in other communities across the state. People's lives are in the balance, and Connecticut must continue to push forward with collaborative and comprehensive approaches to end this crisis."

j.vazquez@theday.com