ROUND ROCK, Texas — The Round Rock Fire Department is getting more than $1.5 million for a program focusing on mental health and opioid abuse.

"If we go in and just fix up their environment and not address any medical issues or mental issues they may have, there is a good possibility they may relapse," Fire Chief Robert Isbell said.

Isbell started a program for at-risk residents like the elderly when he worked in Midland, Texas. With a grant from the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, he's creating this new program in Round Rock that addresses a different at-risk population. 

"It's going to allow us to address what appears to be a problem nationwide. (We're going to) address it before it starts taking root in our community," Isbell said.

In 2017, Williamson County EMS crews administered naloxone on 139 calls, compared to 83 in 2016.

"What we see is not this back-alley drug problem. This is a problem with prescription drugs that went too long and ends up with an addiction that people struggle to get out of," Isbell said.

Half of the grant money will buy opioid overdose reversal drugs. The other half will help shore up staffing for mental health and overdose calls. Once out on the call, paramedics assess the problem. First responders can then treat the patient medically, or offer addiction counseling and resources -- an alternative to jail.

"Round Rock is one of the safest and healthiest places to live and work," Isbell said.

The program began this week.