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Nonprofit Chances & Services seeks $150,000 county match to apply for state opioid‑settlement grant
Summary
Chances & Services for Youth requested a $150,000 county appropriation from opioid settlement funds as a required match to pursue a two‑year state grant to expand counseling and prevention services in schools and the community.
Brandon Hallock, chief operating officer for Chances & Services for Youth, asked the Vigo County Council to appropriate $150,000 in opioid settlement dollars so his organization can apply for a matching two‑year grant from the Indiana Division of Mental Health and Addiction.
Hallock said the state grant requires local opioid settlement dollars as a committed match: "The division of mental health and addictions through the FSSA has issued a grant for the opiate settlement dollars. And so, it's a matching grant for $150,000 that can only be matched with settlement dollars." The grant would fund prevention and expanded access to mental‑health and counseling services for children and families from July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2028.
Chances & Services described current programming: counseling services resumed after a nonprofit closure in 2024, serving roughly 1,300 clients since January 2024 and averaging about 110 clients per month. Hallock said the nonprofit provides school‑based counseling at several Vigo County schools, community center services at Booker T. Washington Community Center and other prevention programs targeted at youth and families.
Council members asked legal and strategic questions about the allowable uses of opioid settlement funds and whether school counseling fits the settlement's permitted categories. Hallock and council members agreed prevention and expanded access to behavioral health services for young people are allowable categories under the settlement guidance; Councilman Randy Gentry urged legal review to confirm whether proposed programming should be funded from restricted vs. unrestricted settlement dollars.
Ending: The council asked for follow‑up on legal constraints and broader strategy for using the county's opioid settlement funds; no final appropriation vote is recorded in the transcript.
