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Pennsylvania’s Allegheny County, which has 1.2M people including residents of Pittsburgh, wants to hire a PR firm to help it fight drug abuse and reduce the number of fatal overdoses, of which 89 percent are opioid-related.
Since 2008, Allegheny has experienced fatal overdose rates higher than those seen throughout much of the country, according to the RFP.
The rapid increase in deaths starting in 2015 is largely due to the presence of synthetic drug fentanyl, which is used to supplement heroin and other illicit drugs.
The COVID-19 pandemic has worsened the situation for those suffering from substance use disorder.
"Emotional stressors such as potential job loss, working full-time from home without child care and a decrease in face-to-face social interaction has made it even more challenging for people to seek treatment or access treatment or recovery support when they want or need it,” according to the document.
Allegheny wants a firm to generate awareness of the risks associated with substance use and create messaging to counter the stigma about entering drug treatment programs.
Allegheny plans to award a two-year contract worth $550K
Proposals are due Dec. 31. They must be sent electronically to https://alleghenycounty.bonfirehub.com/portal/?tab=openOpportunities.
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