Missoula Public Health (MPH) is expanding overdose prevention and harm reduction efforts across Missoula County thanks to funding received from the Montana Opioid Abatement Trust (MOAT) last fall. Two MPH programs, the Substance Abuse Prevention Program (SUDPP) and the Missoula Foster Child Health Program (MFCHP), received a combined $333,300 through the Missoula Metropolitan Abatement Region Opioid Settlement Trust for fiscal years 2026 and 2027.
The funding supports evidence-based strategies designed to reduce opioid-related harm, strengthen community response systems through specialized programs and increase access to life-saving resources throughout the region.
Like many communities across the nation, Missoula County has experienced increasing rates of opioid misuse and overdose. In 2023, youth under age 25 accounted for 46% of all overdose-related emergency room visits in Missoula County. This highlighted the need for services focused on reducing harm from unintended maltreatment of children, coordinated prevention, harm reduction, treatment and recovery efforts. MOAT was established to direct opioid settlement funding toward evidence-based programs and community strategies that address the impacts of the opioid epidemic across Montana.
MPH is using the MOAT funding to address substance use from the earliest stages of life to harm reduction strategies for those already impacted. The goal is to ensure individuals, families and communities have the tools, training and the support needed to prevent overdose deaths and reduce substance-related harm. This includes training more than 200 community members each year, including educators, students, behavioral health providers, businesses and community organizations in overdose recognition and response.
MOAT funding supports MPH’s Missoula Foster Child Health Program (MFCHP), which improves the safety and wellbeing of children affected by substance use in the community. Many foster children face barriers to healthcare and complex physical and behavioral health conditions that can be associated with parental substance use. Through coordinated and specialized care, the program helps ensure children’s medical and behavioral health needs are identified and addressed, while ensuring caregivers have the knowledge and support needed to care for them. MPH works closely with Montana State Child and Family Services and Partnership Health Center to build a strong network of support around these children and families.
In addition, MPH is prioritizing understanding how support systems work for individuals who have experienced substance use in their lives, by speaking with those who have firsthand experience and through ongoing research with partners like the University of Montana. This research will create safe pathways to access care, raise community awareness, reduce stigma and increase overdose prevention education.
MOAT funding has supported MPH with the purchase of overdose prevention safety supplies that will be distributed this year, including 612 doses of naloxone spray, 40 medication lock boxes, 400 medication disposal bags, in addition to fentanyl test strips, naloxone carry kits, CPR kits and educational materials focused on substance use prevention and overdose response.
MPH is also planning to partner with the Missoula Fire Department to launch a naloxone Leave-Behind Program aimed at preventing overdose deaths in Missoula County. EMS personnel will leave naloxone kits with overdose survivors and bystanders who may witness an opioid-related overdose, helping increase access to overdose prevention tools and provide lifesaving resources in real time.
MOAT funding allows MPH to expand access to critical overdose prevention resources while strengthening community partnerships, supporting foster children and their families and performing prevention strategies. Community members interested in accessing naloxone, medication disposal bags, or overdose prevention resources can contact Missoula Public Health 406-258-4770 or by visiting missoulapublichealth.org/people/mental-physical-health/.