(SOA) – It is now estimated that more than $55 billion in cash from the opioid settlement will be provided to states across the country to combat the opioid epidemic.
Spotlight on America has been tracking the settlement money for the past year, and investigative correspondent Angie Moreschi found that many grassroots organizations, which have been on the front lines of fighting the drug crisis for the past decade, They are suffering from lack of 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, through her grandmother Jackie Lewis.
“We’re going through a lot of adjustments right now. We’re promoting the only space she’s ever known,” Lewis said of her granddaughter. “Her strength amazes me. She just perseveres. I watch her persevere and triumph over difficult trials.
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 financing procedure is different in the state, so it can be very confusing. In Ohio, the state created a personal nonprofit called OneOhio Recovery Foundation to distribute 55% of the settlement cash to the community. The rest of the cash is divided between local governments (35 percent) and the state government (15 percent).
It’s been two years since the state got its first payment, and while some of the cash was 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 scheduled to begin in mid-summer. “
But in late July, “midsummer” 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 firm did not directly respond to our interview request, but told us in an email that its initial “mid-summer” schedule was only an “estimated schedule” and given the “high volume of requests for investment received”: 1,442 applications. of another 777 organizations: the review procedure “is still ongoing. ”
OneOhio said the grants will be announced on an ongoing basis and made available to the public on the Foundation’s website. They encouraged us to “check back for updates in the coming weeks and months. “
The state is expected to get about $2 billion in cash settlement over 18 years, more than most other states because 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 to fighting the opioid epidemic.
“It’s hard,” Pleus told Spotlight. For this entire year, I’ve been dreading this 10-year milestone because I’m frustrated by where we are as a nation. For not having 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 teams were founded through friends and people who lost to an opioid overdose and highlighted why it’s so vital for organizations to get some of that cash in.
“We step in, fill in the gaps and take care of the other people that the systems leave behind,” Pleus said. “No one will overcome 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 available.
“It’s vital to defer to the wisdom of the network here, because the effect of this crisis is felt most vividly at the network level,” Minhee told Spotlight on America. “Hundreds of thousands of people had to die because state and local governments get their billions of dollars from those drug companies. So to spend this money well, I think it’s imperative that decision makers reach out to the other people most affected.
Minhee says the purpose of the new Grant Tracker feature is to point out 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 you invest in your cause.
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.