CHARLOTTE — Mecklenburg County commissioners voted almost unanimously on Tuesday night on how they want a second wave of opioid settlement funds, $5.5 million, to be spent.
[ PAST COVERAGE: Mecklenburg County using millions in settlement money to fight opioid crisis ]
“Drug overdose deaths fell by 14.5% between June 2023 and June 2024, the most significant decline in the 21st Century,” said Marcus Boyd, program manager for the county’s Opioid Settlement Fund Initiative.
County officials said that drop is largely thanks to the national settlement of opioid litigation.
The county received its first wave of funds of $32 million in March.
Boyd explained how it has been spent.
“Harm reduction, intervention, and addiction treatment,” Boyd said.
He detailed where they will direct the some of the funding for the next wave:
- $400,000 will go to continuing naloxone distribution.
- $2.5 million to establish a post-overdose response team.
- $2 million toward addiction treatment for incarcerated persons.
- $600,000 to connect those people to reentry programs specializing in treatment, recovery support, and harm reduction services.
“While overdose deaths have fallen, data shows that only about one-seventh of the people with opioid addiction receive effective medication and treatment,” Boyd said.
However, some commissioners are skeptical about the equity of how those funds are being distributed.
“Wave 1 had no demographic on your website,” said Commissioner Arthur Griffin.
Griffin said he wants more specifics on client outcomes.
“It didn’t say how many of those folks got housing, for one month, two months, three months, four months, etc.,” he said.
Officials said a big piece they’re still working on is hiring and training staff.
Meanwhile, they said $10.2 million has already been invested in efforts to reduce opioid deaths.
The county will receive $74 million over 18 years.
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