Arizona is getting some help in its efforts to curb the opioid epidemic.

The state was recently awarded $24 million in federal funding that will be used over the next two years. The lion’s share of that grant will go toward increasing access to medication assisted treatment for the uninsured and under insured. That will help supplement what’s already being provided in hospitals and other facilities around the state.

“The idea of this is to give them options and one of those options needs to be medication assisted treatment, which really helps the brain stabilize, if you will, to the point where we can introduce things like psycho social services to help in their recovery,” said Shana Malone, Clinical Initiatives program manager with the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System.

Malone said the state will be using data to identify the places most in need.

Along with helping provide 24/7 access to treatment, the grants will also fund prevention and education efforts.

Deaths from opioids increased more than 40 percent in Arizona between 2005 and 2015, and Malone said rural communities have been especially hurt by the epidemic.