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Residents urge faster use of opioid settlement funds; board approves replacement Narcan purchase
Summary
At the Spalding County meeting, recovery providers and residents urged the commission to create an open process to deploy opioid abatement settlement funds for treatment; the board approved a $3,870.70 Narcan repurchase for county facilities while commissioners discussed directing more money toward recovery services.
Residents and recovery providers urged Spalding County commissioners on April 20 to set a clear application process to spend opioid abatement settlement funds on treatment and recovery services, saying communities are still losing people while funds sit unused.
"Every dollar was won on behalf of the people this crisis harmed, and people are still dying while we wait to put it to work," Nicole Green, executive director of Midway Recovery Systems, told the board. She said Narcan distribution in the county is essential but not a substitute for treatment: "Narcan matters. It saves lives in the moment, but Narcan is not recovery. It reverses an overdose. It does not rebuild a life." (Nicole Green, public comment.)
Green said Midway Recovery has an education building nearly complete and partial funding for a women's residential program, and asked the board to create a formal way for local organizations to apply for opioid settlement dollars.
After public comment, the board considered a staff request from the Emergency Management/EMA director to use opioid funds to repurchase Narcan kits for county facilities and vehicles because some supplies were reaching expiration. The board voted 5-0 to approve $3,870.70 to repurchase Narcan, while several commissioners expressed a desire to move more settlement dollars into treatment and recovery programs once the county has an application and review process.
Commissioners said they are aware other jurisdictions have quickly set up formal awards processes and that Spalding needs a similarly transparent mechanism to route funds to local providers.
