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Council awards opioid‑settlement funds to Clemson for local needs assessment and recovery‑systems project
Summary
Clemson University proposed a one‑year deliverable and longer-term study to map services and assess opioid-related needs in Greer; council approved using opioid-settlement funds for the project, leaving roughly $50,000 remaining in the fund, per staff.
Greer City Council approved a grant agreement to fund Clemson University's proposal to strengthen recovery systems and conduct a needs assessment related to opioid use, mental health and housing services in Greer.
Miss Woodruff introduced the item as an application from Clemson University under the South Carolina Opioid Recovery Act. Amanda Stover (Clemson) described a team-based plan: three principal investigators (including Stover) supported by a project manager and graduate students for a total project team of roughly five to six people. The initial award focuses on overdose rates and a needs assessment; Clemson characterized the work as both an immediate one‑year deliverable and the foundation for a longitudinal community-engaged effort.
Stover said the team would do community asset mapping, interview service providers and people experiencing homelessness or opioid use disorder, and produce evidence-based findings to guide future funding or interventions. She said Clemson trimmed its request to be conservative and had proposed similar work elsewhere.
Financial note: staff said awarding the grant from the city's opioid-settlement allocation would leave approximately $50,000 in that fund; staff also stated Greer's total allocation from the settlement is about $2,000,000 over the distribution period.
Council discussion covered project scope, duration and how the research would be operationalized locally; some members urged skepticism about whether a study would lead to actionable change, while others supported the data-driven approach. The council approved the funding by roll call vote.
