Evansville Mayor Stephanie Terry tonight requested that Evansville City Council approve the distribution of more than $1.2 million in Opioid Settlement Funds to organizations helping battle the opioid epidemic.
If approved, the funds would be distributed to six organizations focused on reaching populations most vulnerable to opioid abuse, and working with them in what research has found to be their most influential moments.
“In considering the applications we received, we saw opportunities to reach our homeless population; we saw opportunities to reach individuals as they enter – or to stay with them as they exit – the criminal justice system,” said Evansville Mayor Stephanie Terry. “The committee saw these as real opportunities to make a difference in people’s lives, and I agree, which is why I am asking the Council to approve the distribution of funds when the ordinance goes to second reading on September 23.”
If approved, the organizations and programs receiving funds would be:
YWCA Evansville: Say YES! To Sobriety and Self-Sufficiency – $200,000
Evansville Rescue Mission: Recovery Program of the Evansville Rescue Mission– $150,000
Vanderburgh County Mental Health Court: Mental Health Court – $96,000
Vanderburgh County Sheriff’s Office: Recovery Community Organization – $250,000
Evansville Police Department: Tackling the Opioid Epidemic – $275,826
The Women’s Hospital: Perinatal Support Consult Program – $231,080
Representatives of each organization were present at tonight’s City Council meeting, and details of their program can be found on the City of Evansville website at www.evansvillegov.org/city.
These six programs were recommended to Mayor Terry by a committee she formed in April, comprised of experts and community stakeholders. That committee, which was tasked with developing criteria and evaluating applications, was led by Deputy Mayor Lindsay Locasto and Communications Director Joe Atkinson, and was comprised of:
- State Representative Ryan Hatfield
- Lisa Seif, LCSW
- Assistant Police Chief Nathan Hassler
- Superior Court Judge Wayne Trockman
- Larissa Martin-Madison, MSN-Ed, RN, IBCLC, RLC
The group reviewed a total of 22 applications received in late Spring, after Mayor Terry’s office announced a request for such proposals. In total, those requests represented more than $4.4 million in programs aimed at combating opioids in Evansville. At the time, the city had $940,540.27 in “restricted” funds, which must be used for opioid addiction, treatment, and harm reduction purposes; and another $371.028.44 is in “unrestricted” funds, which can be used for non-opioid purposes.
Those funds are part of a $54 billion federal settlement agreement reached in 2021 with Opioid manufacturers, distributors, and retailers. At the time, Indiana learned it would receive $507 million of those funds over an 18-year period; the funds Mayor Terry is requesting City Council approve distributing includes funds remaining from the city’s allocation in 2023, as well as nearly all of its 2024 allocation.
Evansville is scheduled to receive additional funds, which will likely be distributed through a similar process, in 2025.
