Guilford County Asks Residents How to Spend Its Share of Opioid Settlement
County officials are seeking public and organizational input on how to use money from a $26 billion national settlement with major opioid makers and distributors.
By Gabriela Flores ·
Guilford County is asking residents and community groups to help decide how it should spend its share of a multibillion-dollar opioid settlement, as of an announcement made on Nov. 29, 2022.
The money comes from a $26 billion legal settlement reached by state and local governments with major opioid makers and distributors. Earlier this year, Johnson & Johnson, AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health and McKesson agreed to pay that total to resolve claims that their business practices promoted and prolonged the country's deadly opioid crisis.
The payments add to a run of outside funding for county government. Over the past two years, Guilford County has received substantial extra money from a variety of federal and state relief programs, and the settlement now brings new dollars from the private sector.
County officials say the funds will pay for resources that address the harm done by the epidemic. In their words, the settlement money "will allow for new approaches and expansion of existing efforts to assist with the treatment, recovery, and support of our residents with substance use disorder."
To gather ideas, the county has opened an online "Partner Organization Interest Form." Organizations can use it to say they want to take part in the response or to put forward other suggestions. The county also plans to hold "community engagement sessions" to help set funding priorities and to give people a clearer picture of how settlement money can be used.
County leaders say they are looking for proposals that complement work already under way. One such effort is the Guilford County Solution to the Opioid Problem, known as GCSTOP, a joint project of the county and UNC-Greensboro.
Another is Save A Life Guilford, a collaboration among the county's Department of Public Health, GCSTOP, Triad Adult and Pediatric Medicine and other organizations. It aims to combat the opioid crisis and make needed resources available.
The county also points to the NC FIT Program, which offers resources and support to people leaving prisons and jails so they can become self-sufficient and healthy members of society.
Input from residents will help shape both the county's overall response and the way the new money is spent. People in Guilford County who are struggling with opioid addiction, or who know someone who is, can call 336-890-2700 for help.
Originally published by News Media House · Source: The Rhino Times of Greensboro
