HARTFORD, Conn. (WTIC Radio)—The Connecticut Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (DMHAS) has launched a program that aims to address the needs of pregnant and parenting women in recovery from a substance use disorder.
The Parents Recovering from Opioid Use Disorders (PROUD) Program is an initiative that aims to help pregnant and parenting women in any stage of recovery, including their families, while also addressing health disparities in the Greater Hartford and Greater New Britain areas.
DMHAS announced the launch of the program Thursday. According to officials, the PROUD program is being funded with a $2.7 million grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
The funds will be used to support eligible women in the Greater Hartford and New Britain communities with recovery resources such as clinical treatment services, recovering coaching and other supportive services such as housing.
"These communities have been hard hit by the opioid epidemic and women and children in these areas are struggling with racial, social and economic disparities. The program will help to reduce these disparities and will support the recovery journey of pregnant and parenting women and participating family members," DMHAS Commissioner Miriam Delphin-Rittmon said.
Funding will also go toward a community-oriented public health campaign to help reduce the stigma around addiction, training for healthcare professionals and Department of Children and Families efforts to implement the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA).
DMHAS is working with Wheeler Clinic and InterCommunity Inc. and the Connecticut Hospital Association to provide service delivery in the targeted communities and to provide training for healthcare professionals working with women that suffer from substance use disorders, officials said.
More information on the program is available at portal.ct.gov/PROUD.