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Goal 4: Distribute funding to reduce the impacts of the opioid crisis |
Current State
Sources: Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment: Counts of drug overdose due to any opioid in Colorado, 2010-2019; Colorado Prescription Drug Abuse Consortium, “Heroin in Colorado” (2017) ;Brown, J. (2020, June 28) “Opioid crisis could get worse amid pandemic“; Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment: Colorado Health Data and Statistics – Drug Overdose. Data is unavailable for the City and County of Broomfield due to data suppression rules. When a number is so small that individual people can be potentially identified, data is unavailable to the public to protect those individuals’ privacy.
“Opioid overdoses and addiction have devastated families and communities throughout Colorado, and this crisis poses a serious threat to the state’s public health, safety, and economy.”
Source: Combatting the opioid epidemic – Colorado Attorney General’s Office
Challenges
There are resources coming into our community (from litigation settlements) to address gaps in the programs and services needed to support community members, but there has not been a regional, coordinated effort in place to maximize the impact of these dollars.
Even with the litigation settlement funds currently slated to come into our community, it is not going to be enough to address all of the needs that exist
Projects
Community members and partners work together on innovative projects across RMP’s collective priority areas. Below are the projects that have been identified so far.
| Project 1 | Distribute funding through the Adams County Opioid Abatement Grant | Learn More | ||
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| Project 2 | Pursue regional capital projects that fill major gaps in services | Learn More | ||
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How This Work Came About
In 2021, Attorney General Phil Weiser and local government leaders unveiled a first-of-its-kind joint framework for distributing statewide over $700 million that Colorado stands to receive from litigation settlements reached with companies who fueled the opioid crisis. The joint framework’s three core principles are to maximize settlement funds for Colorado communities, utilize existing infrastructure to the extent possible, and ensure regions hardest hit by the crisis get adequate funding. For more information on the joint framework and litigation settlement click HERE.
Adams County is one of 19 regions across Colorado that was allocated litigation settlement funds. RMP is supporting the Adams County region to address issues impacting the community as a result of the opioid epidemic as the facilitator of the Adams County Opioid Council.
Learn More
Learn more about this effort, including data and impact, our action underway in 2022 and beyond, and who’s involved, by clicking on the links in the left sidebar.
Click on the button below to see Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about this effort.
| To sign up for the Adams County Opioid Abatement Newsletter and Email Updates, email AshleyEdinger@RMPBackbone.org
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Jody Nowicki, RMP Senior Director of Stakeholder Impact, serves as the Project Manager for this effort. Contact Jody at JodyNowicki@RMPBackbone.org with additional questions or to learn more. |