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Local recovery groups press White County for plan to spend opioid-abatement funds; budget committee requests follow-up
Summary
Seeds of Hope and the White County Anti-Drug Coalition asked county budget officials to accelerate planning for opioid-abatement funds; the budget committee asked staff to provide program guidance and convene a stakeholder group to develop recommendations.
Representatives from local recovery and prevention groups urged White County's budget committee to move faster in allocating opioid-abatement funds that the county has received through nationwide settlement distributions.
Tina Lomax, executive director of Seeds of Hope and president of the White County Anti-Drug Coalition, told the committee that White County has received two distributions (one cited as $138,834.73 in 2023 and another $137,278.03 in 2024 in the speaker's summary) and that the money is intended for a range of opioid-related responses including prevention, treatment, harm reduction, recovery supports and related training.
Lomax asked for clarity on how the funds will be spent and urged officials to form a cross-sector group of nonprofit providers, judges, law enforcement and health partners to develop spending recommendations. Committee members agreed that the money should be used for programs that address local needs and discussed forming a subcommittee to translate state guidelines into local programs.
Why it matters: Opioid-abatement funds are a multi-year resource tied to litigation settlements and can support prevention, treatment and recovery services. Community providers said the county should move deliberately but quickly to get services started, noting that some programs require upfront funding before other grants or reimbursements are available.
Details and next steps: The budget committee asked staff to provide written guidance on the state and litigation-derived funding rules and to convene stakeholders for a planning discussion before the committee's next meeting. Lomax said her organization plans to supply more detailed proposals for respite beds and a navigator position that could use abatement funding to provide immediate, local support for people exiting overdose or facing homelessness.
Provenance: The request and committee response are recorded in the budget meeting transcript where memorialized distribution amounts and the speaker's suggested uses were discussed; budget staff agreed to follow up with written guidance and convene a planning group.
