St. Joseph County Department of Health receives $99,925 to expand 525 Foundation program
ST. JOSEPH COUNTY, Ind. - The St. Joseph County Department of Health received over $99,000 in grant money to expand the 525 Foundation's Drop2Stop drug disposal program.
Using the grant money, the health department will partner with the 525 Foundation to install five permanent pill drop boxes in the county, create more drug "take-back" events, and expand the Prevention Plus program.
There are currently 13 permanent pill drop boxes throughout the county. These boxes are specially designed to ensure a secure disposal of expired or unneeded prescription drugs.
The health department is one of eight in the country to receive the grant from the Institute for Intergovernmental Research on behalf of the U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice.
August 28 to September 3 is national Overdose Awareness Week. In 2021, St. Joseph County lost 97 lives to overdose, the most the county has ever reported.
