(SOA) – It is now estimated that more than $55 billion in opioid settlement cash will be paid to states across the country to combat the opioid epidemic.
Spotlight on America has been tracking settlement money for the past year, and investigative correspondent Angie Moreschi found that many of the grassroots organizations, which have been on the front lines of fighting the drug crisis for the last year of the last decade, have struggling funds. .
It’s been two years since 9-year-old Ava lost her father to an opioid overdose. Since then, she was raised in Columbus, Ohio, thanks to her grandmother Jackie Lewis.
“We’re going through a lot of updates right now. We’re promoting the only space she’s ever known,” Lewis said of her granddaughter. “Their strength surprises me. She just perseveres. I see her persevere and triumph over difficult challenges.
Lewis is now a strong advocate for families who have lost loved ones to drug addiction. He was very hopeful that the money from the opioid settlement could help affected families, such as paying for funeral expenses or ensuring treatment can be obtained when they request it. But he says that it has been difficult to get a budget for families and grassroots groups.
“In my opinion, the application procedure is very complicated,” Lewis told Spotlight on America.
The funding procedure is different in the state, so it can be very confusing. In Ohio, the state created a personal nonprofit organization called the OneOhio Recovery Foundation to distribute 55% of the cash from the settlement to the community. The rest of the cash is split between local governments (35 percent) and state government (15 percent).
It’s been two years since the state got its first payment, and while some cash has been distributed to local governments, OneOhio has yet to distribute funds.
Nearly 3,600 Ohioans died in 2023 due to an opioid overdose.
OneOhio opened a grant application procedure this spring, posting that “grant announcements were expected to begin in mid-summer. “
But in late July, “mid-summer” was removed and replaced with “announcements expected to begin later this year. “
Spotlight on America reached out to OneOhio for more information about the delay. The Foundation’s public relations company did not directly respond to our request for an interview, but told us in an email that its initial “mid-summer” schedule was just an “estimate. ” schedule and given the “high volume of investment programs received” (1,442 programs from 777 other organizations), the review procedure “remains ongoing. “
OneOhio said grants will be announced on a rolling basis and made available to the public on the Foundation’s website. We were encouraged to “check back for updates in the coming weeks and months. “
The state is expected to get about $2 billion in settlement cash over 18 years, more than most other states, as it has been hit by the opioid epidemic.
Alexis Pleus lost her son Jeff to an overdose 10 years ago and has since committed her son to fighting the opioid epidemic.
“It’s hard,” Pleus told Spotlight. All this year I have dreaded this 10-year milestone because I am frustrated by where we are as a nation. That we haven’t gone far enough.
Pleus founded Truth Pharm, known for its annual march on Washington, in remembrance of people lost to drug overdoses across the country. She represents thousands of families across the country and says local and national teams are struggling to secure funding.
He explained that many grassroots groups were founded through friends and family who lost someone to an opioid overdose and highlighted why it’s so important for organizations to get some of that money.
“We step in, fill in the gaps, and take care of the other people that the systems leave behind,” Pleus said. “No one will go the distance like a mother or father who has lost their own child. “
The Opioid Settlement Tracker recently introduced a new resource with the Legal Action Center, which tracks states that offer grant opportunities to network groups.
Founding attorney Christine Minhee says that as of early August, a dozen states had yet to announce grant programs.
She says it’s imperative that local network teams have those funds at their disposal.
“It’s vital to trust the wisdom of the network here because the effect of this crisis is being felt most intensely at the network level,” Minhee told Spotlight on America. “Hundreds of thousands of people had to die for state and local governments to get billions of dollars from those drug companies. So, in order to spend this money well, I think it’s imperative that policymakers reach those most affected.
Minhee says the purpose of the new Grant Tracker feature is to point the game box to those who want those resources the most.
Back in Ohio, Lewis partnered with 8 nonprofits and hired a grant writing company, Health Impact Ohio, to apply for funding.
“We needed someone who understood the inside, so to speak. And this organization knows the players, the politicians, how the operation is run,” Lewis said.
So now they are waiting. And I hope that his cause will be invested.
Meanwhile, Ava is preparing to return to school this fall in a new school district as the space she lived in is sold. She says she can’t wait to make new friends and is grateful for everything her grandmother does for her.