HARTFORD – U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) called for action on Friday after New Haven declared a public health emergency in the wake of Thursday’s 15 overdoses. 

“We have a crisis on our hands and Connecticut families should not have to wait any longer for us to fix it,” said Murphy. “Yesterday’s tragic string of overdoses was proof that we need more resources to stock life-saving drugs like naloxone, we need better prevention programs, and we need to improve coordination between government agencies and health care providers to curb this epidemic. I won’t stop fighting until Connecticut gets the funding and support it needs to put an end to this crisis and save lives.”

Murphy – a member of the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee – has called on Congress to pass his bipartisan Mental Health Reform Act, which will expand federal resources and improve coordination for mental health and substance abuse treatment programs. Murphy is also a cosponsor of the TREAT Act to expand access to medication-assisted treatment, and has urged the Department of Health and Human Services to ensure that those seeking treatment for addiction have greater access to medication-assisted treatment. Most recently, Murphy spent a “Day in the Life” meeting with patients, health professionals, law enforcement, and advocates around Connecticut to learn firsthand how he can improve federal efforts to combat Connecticut’s addiction crisis and save lives.

In Connecticut, deaths caused by drug overdoses have skyrocketed. In 2015, 729 Connecticut residents died from drug overdoses, including 415 heroin-related deaths.