HAYDEN J EMRAH
WZBD.com
At their December council meeting, members of the Adams County Council spoke with Ian Gilbert, Executive Director of Adams County Community Corrections, for insight on how money received from an opioid settlement would be used to better the community.
The money, which will be disbursed annually between 2022 and 2038, will total $235,549.56 in unrestricted funding, and $549,615.76 in restricted funds. The payout comes as part of a federal lawsuit against Purdue pharmaceuticals and the Sackler family, where a New Jersey court found the company and family liable for promoting opioid addictions via prescription pills. Part of the settlement was to provide funding to each state to help reverse the damage inflicted, with Indiana receiving $50 million from the almost $6 billion dollar lawsuit. This is also likely the first of several lawsuits, with companies like Walmart, CVS/Walgreens, etc. all settling court cases related to the opioid crisis.
“Now this is the first settlement, and there may be more down the road. But you can see in total almost $800,000 on this settlement alone,” spoke Ian Gilbert at the December council.
To spend these funds, Gilbert headed both the Adams County Justice Reinvestment Advisory Council (JRAC) Committee and a newly formed Opioid Steering Settlement Committee, which consisted of leading members of Adams County in health and community outreach, such as County Prosecutor Jeremy Brown, Dr. Scott Smith of Adams Health Network and Megan Jinnings of the Adams/Wells Crisis Center, among others. This committee sought to find the best route for utilizing the money, which this year totaled around $75,000.
It was decided that of the received money, $75,000 would be awarded as grants this year. The funds were awarded to Crossroads Community for their continued efforts in battling addiction within the county. The funds, which have specific restrictions on how they can be spent, were split, with $37,500 being put towards a housing and recovery home, and the other half being used to support group meetings, retaining/recruiting certified recovery coaches, and acquiring proper certifications for staff as well as other capital expenses such as rent.
The use of these funds to support ongoing addiction issues in the county is monumental to the efforts of the state and federal government to hold companies responsible for their role in the ongoing opioid epidemic. These funds will be awarded annually, and any organization within Adams county that helps to combat drug addiction can apply.