U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis (R-Ill.) Wednesday announced federal help for many communities fighting the opioid epidemic. 

The Health Resources and Services Administration has awarded Rural Communities Opioid Response planning grants to five organizations and agencies in central and southwestern Illinois. 

Davis says the grants will go a long way in helping communities address the opioid epidemic. He points in the previous Congress, there were 60 other bills passed to help address opioid addiction. 

Each of the awards is in the amount of $200,000, mostly in southern Illinois.