OD prevention grants available in Wasco County

The task force will focus on funding projects in four areas: preventing opioid use to begin with; harm reduction for those who use opioids; treatment of opioid use; and recovery from opioid use.

The task force has the ability to award multi-year funding to a single project. Applicants can seek funds for one year or up to four years. Funds will be disbursed yearly.

“The reality is that 32% of U.S. adults report knowing someone who died of a drug overdose, according to a study published online May 31 in JAMA Health Forum,” said Debby Jones, director of YouthThink, Wasco County’s program for preventing youth alcohol and other drug use.

“These funds are meant to be spent locally in an effort to address the issues that are happening in our very own neighborhoods,” said Jones, who leads the overdose prevention task force.

“We have the opportunity to help youth to never start using, help those who are currently in the midst of their addiction as well as those maintaining their recovery. It’s a terrible opportunity that we must take advantage of in order to save lives now and in the future,” Jones said.

Eligible applicants include community based organizations, nonprofit organizations, substance use disorder treatment providers/organizations, faith-based organizations, schools, governmental entities, peer delivered services, and behavioral and mental health providers whose service area includes Wasco County.

The grant application can be found at this link: https://www.co.wasco.or.us/departments/administrative_services/public_notices.php

Applications are due by Monday, July 15 at 5 p.m. and should be emailed to debbyj@co.wasco.or.us.

The key principles guiding funding will be: spend money to save lives; use evidence to guide spending; invest in youth prevention; focus on racial equality; and develop a fair and transparent process on where to spend the funding.

The following is a direct link to a list of allowable Opioid Remediation Uses, known as Exhibit E: https://nationalopioidsettlement.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/TEVA-Exhibit-E.pdf

Proposed projects must meet one or more of the strategies listed in Exhibit E and must fill a gap or critical need. It must also have measureable ways of showing how the project was implemented and its level of success.

Wasco County began receiving received grant funding a few years ago due to its high rate of opioid overdoses. The opioid prevention task force was formed, drawing membership from law enforcement, the fire service, mental health agencies, parole and probation, public health, prevention, and medical entities.

A major effort of the task force has been offering free naloxone to the public and free training on how to use it. Naloxone is used to reverse opioid overdoses. To get free training and/or naloxone, call 541-506-2673.

Over the next 14 years, the task force will have an estimated $1 million in settlement funds to spend toward overdose prevention.