In accordance with the settlement’s priorities for the money’s use, the task force allocated $446,729 into four categories aimed at reducing substance abuse in Wasco County.
Graph from the Wasco County Board of Commissioners Meeting Packet
WASCO CO. — A task force commissioned by The Dalles and Wasco County officials have determined awards for drug treatment organizations applying to use opioid settlement dollars.
Organizations around the county applied this summer to fund their substance abuse treatment programs with money awarded to the city and county as part of several massive settlements with drug manufacturers found liable for the opioid epidemic.
Officials with The Dalles and Wasco County established an Overdose Prevention Task Force in 2020 to oversee the use of an estimated $1,068,344 that the city and county jointly expect to receive over the next 14 years.
On July 15, the application period closed for an Overdose Prevention grant distributed by this task force, with $485,000 available over four years.
Director Debby Jones of substance abuse prevention organization Youth Think relayed the grant award results at a board of county commissioners meeting Sept. 18.
Award recipients are as follows:
Overdose prevention grant awards
Graph from the Wasco County Board of Commissioners Meeting Packet
Award recipients are as follows: Northern Oregon Regional Correctional Facilities (NORCOR) for treatment and recovery, $179,000; Next Door, Inc. for harm reduction and primary prevention, $101,963; Gorge Recovery Center for recovery, $54,577; YouthThink for primary prevention, $57,550; and Dufur School District for primary prevention, $21,280, for a total of $414,370.
“We looked at what’s going to be the fairest and most efficient use of the funds,” Jones said.
According to Jones, the task force has set aside the remaining $32,909 for recovery purposes and has invited Gorge Recovery Center to resubmit.
In accordance with the settlement’s priorities for the money’s use, the task force allocated $446,729 into four categories aimed at reducing substance abuse in Wasco County.
In accordance with the settlement’s priorities for the money’s use, the task force allocated $446,729 into four categories aimed at reducing substance abuse in Wasco County.
Graph from the Wasco County Board of Commissioners Meeting Packet
This award represents the largest use of opioid settlement funds since the first payout in 2022. Previously, the city and county have used $11,234.67 on a fentanyl testing machine and a yoga in recovery instructor certification.
Because Jones and other task force members are connected with organizations that applied for the grant, contracted evaluator Becca Sanders recruited five expert panelists to score the applications. Based on these scores, the task force awarded the dollar amounts.
“We really felt like it was important to have complete transparency on this, because some of the people that are part of the task force, including myself, were intending to apply for funds and we wanted to make sure that there [were] no conflicts of interest,” Jones said.
Members of the Overdose Prevention Task Force include Debby Jones of YouthThink, representing primary prevention; Jason Whitley of Adventist Health, representing Columbia Gorge Medical; Lupita Castillo of Eastern Oregon Independent Living, representing harm reduction; Neita Cecil of North Central Public Health, representing public health; Scott Williams of Wasco County Sheriff’s Department, representing law enforcement; Jamie Carrico of City of The Dalles Police representing law enforcement; Victor Veloz, representing lived experience; Fritz Bachman of Wasco County Community Corrections, representing parole/probation; Gaby Swisher of Pacific Source, representing CCO; Rebecca Garrett of One Community Health, representing medical; and Nicole Beaman of Wasco County Youth Services, representing juvenile detention.
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