Community shares ideas for how ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä could use $5 million in opioid funds

Andy Wood, the city’s finance director, said there is $5.2 million in the fund right now with several years of distributions coming. He anticipates the total will be over $10 million.

In June, the council approved $500,000 from the fund for the city’s CARE Office. CARE stands for Coordinated Addiction Response Effort.

Lived experience

Wednesday evening, participants at the town hall-style meeting brainstormed about what the money could be used for in six categories:

• Prevention
• Harm Reduction and Direct Services
• First Responders
• Transportation
• Treatment
• Re-entry and Re-employment

A seventh group, called Process, discussed how the ideas could be implemented with City Council.

The event was run mostly by people in recovery, such as Ashley McElwee, who provided perspectives on where current services fall short.

“ When I was first in recovery, I had to work, I had to make all these other commitments, but I didn’t have a way to get around,� she said.

Hannah Grubb, who described herself as a “neighbor who cares,� said other cities and counties had not hosted town halls like this.

“We want to get the public’s opinion,� she said. “We want them to feel like their opinion is heard, and they will actually be able to get their thoughts to all the [council members.]�

Mayor’s plan

In a statement, Mayor Amy Shuler Goodwin said the city currently plans to use the funds to sustain the work of the CARE Office, “especially given the potential for federal funds to be difficult to obtain.�

The CARE Office is made up of a director, homeless outreach coordinator, mental health coordinator, Quick Response Team coordinator, case manager and outreach specialists, Goodwin said. They work together with police, fire and local service providers to “connect our most vulnerable community members to critical services and support.�

“As always, we welcome ideas for larger projects that benefit our ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä community and are happy to listen to ideas from organizations applying for funds from the West Virginia First Foundation, which has been tasked with the allocation of nearly $1 billion in state opioid settlement funds,â€� she said.

In December, the WVFF approved $10.4 million in grants for 38 statewide organizations. A project called Appalachian Continuum of Care for Overdose Reduction Network received $20 million from WVFF.

Ideas reported

After the breakout discussions, a member of each group reported ideas to the crowd.

• In the Prevention group, the discussion focused on helping children through organizations like Big Brothers and Big Sisters and Community Bridge, educating legislators, getting more money for prevention efforts and taking the burden off the schools.
• In the Harm Reduction and Direct Services group, participants talked about the current limits on harm reduction programs, the need for transportation to treatment and the hospital, creating a buddy system to make sure drug users are not as isolated and expanding current harm reduction programs and education.
• In First Responders, participants talked about data sharing, first responder burnout and a wellness center.
• For Treatment, ideas included making sure people can pay to stay in treatment and creating a space for people waiting for treatment such as a low barrier shelter.
• Under Re-entry and Re-employment, people talked about expanding housing opportunities, sober living options for families and transitional housing for individuals coming out of incarceration.
• In Transportation, ideas included more support for Kanawha Regional Transit to expand service, incentivizing employers to have transportation for employees and increasing transportation options to get people to and from treatment.
• In the Process discussion, participants talked about creating a participatory budgeting process, connecting resources and services that already exist, increasing public comment time at City Council and making a committee to look at using the funds.

One-stop shop

One idea that came up several times was a form of a one-stop shop, or low-barrier shelter, where many of these needs can be addressed at the same place.

Ward 8 Councilmember Beth Kerns said this “campus� could have a place for people to stay while they wait for recovery, space for service providers such as Manna Meal, a 24/7 warming and cooling center.

“It would be great to have everything in one location,� she said. “It would be a low-barrier facility.�

Kerns said she felt that if there was a building in place, then it would be easier to get grants.

Next steps

Kerns is encouraging people to speak before both City Council and the Kanawha County Commission and ask them to pool their funds for bigger projects.

Kanawha County has received $3 million in opioid settlement money. It is giving out the money through an application process.

At-large Councilmember Joe Solomon, who also attended the meeting, said in a statement he was inspired to create a committee to figure out “an equitable, smart spread of the funds.� He said he’d like the committee to have some members with lived experience of opioid misuse.

At the end of the meeting, attendees were encouraged to send a form letter to all 26 ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä City Council members. The letter also had an option to add personal stories.

Event attendee Deborah Ujevich, who works with the ACLU and is also in recovery, said she felt the issue was important to everyone.

“ I would hazard a guess to say that there’s very few people in ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä, in this county, who haven’t been touched by the opioid epidemic,â€� she said. “I feel strongly that it’s so prevalent that everybody, we all have an interest in how this money is being spent.â€�