Overview of this Effort
The Rocky Mountain Partnership (RMP) is supporting Adams County Government and the region to address issues impacting the community as a result of the opioid epidemic in alignment with a state-wide joint framework and ensuring funding awarded to the state from litigation settlements are invested in the region in a way that will have the most impact.
The Problem We’re Working to Address
Colorado has lost over 7,000 people to fatal opioid prescription, heroin, and/or Fentanyl overdose.
- Roughly 70% of people who use heroin report they use opioid medications first
- Our state had only around 15-20% of the total drug treatment capacity we need
The opioid epidemic impacts community members from all walks of life. However, in the RMP region, some populations have been disproportionately impacted. In 2020, men comprised 64% of all opioid overdose deaths in Adams County.
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
More About This Effort
Attorney General Phil Weiser and local government leaders unveiled a first-of-its-kind joint framework for distributing statewide over $400 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 Adams County Government and the region to address issues impacting the community as a result of the opioid epidemic in alignment with a state-wide joint framework and ensuring funding from these settlements are invested in the region in a way that will have the most impact.
What Will Be Accomplished By the End of 2022
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Establish a regional council and prioritize work to address the opioid crisis in alignment with a state-wide joint framework |
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The Regional Council will set concrete targets to hold accountability to ensuring funding from these settlements are invested in work that will have a measurable impact on the opioid crisis |
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Begin distributing funds from a litigation settlement to support prioritized work that will most impact the opioid crisis |
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| Targets will be added here as they are developed | |
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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 FAQs about this effort.
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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. |