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(SANTA BARBARA, Calif.) — The Santa Barbara County Health Department (SBCHD) is pleased to announce the launch of the Opioid Unified Response in Santa Barbara County (OUR SBC), a grant program for community-based organizations providing services to address the impacts of opioids in the county. OUR SBC will provide $500,000 in total grant awards to local organizations, with individual funding awards of between $50,000 and $100,000 granted through a competitive Request for Proposals (RFP) process.
“Opioid marketing and prescribing practices that began in the 1990s led directly to the increased use of fentanyl and other opioids that has dramatically impacted the health of communities across the country, and Santa Barbara County is no exception,” said Jack Mohr, SBCHD Program Manager who will be coordinating the community RFP process. “OUR SBC focuses on increasing access to proven tools like Medically Assisted Treatment (MAT), harm reduction interventions, and other related services to reduce the worst harms associated with opioid misuse and improve the lives of those most impacted by this health crisis.”
The SBCHD will oversee the community grants and coordinate with agencies to receive all needed program expenditure details for annual reporting to California’s Department of Health Care Services (DHCS). Projects will be considered in the areas of expanding prevention, strengthening treatment and harm reduction programs, and supporting data collection.
Applications to the grant program can be submitted between February 10th and March 10th 2025. A formal review process will be completed over the spring with successful applicants being notified in May 2025. Projects will begin work in June 2025 and will run for one to three years depending on the scope of the applicants’ work.
For more information about the grant program including detailed instructions on how to apply and grant templates, visit Opioid Unified Response in Santa Barbara County | Santa Barbara County, CA – Official Website. Questions about the grant can be directed to Jack Mohr at jmohr@sbcphd.org.
