Over the next decade, Osceola County will be receiving around $12 million from a settlement with pharmaceutical manufacturers like Allegan, Cephalon, Endo, Janssen and Purdue, who were found to be contributors to the nation’s opioid abuse problem.
When the disbursement of the funds for the first two years occurs soon, the county will receive $2.5 million of that, and has a plan to assist the community.
The Osceola Opioid Task Force was created in 2023 to provide recommendations of regional funding usage to the Osceola County Board of County Commissioners in relation to state approved strategies to implement for opioid abatement. The Task Force presented County Commissioners with its plan of action earlier this month.
The multi-faceted proposal includes providing increased access to naxalone, also known as Narcan, a real-time treatment in those experiencing overdose to fentanyl and other drugs. Providing medication and treatment for pregnant and post-partum women and the incarcerated, increased access to mental and behavioral health services for youth, and creating prevention programs that include media and inschool campaigns are also on the list.
Mobile Mediation-Assisted Treatment (MAT) is also in the plan, which would eliminate the need for transportation for some requiring treatment.
Some of the recommendations that made their way into the task force’s presentation are expanding adolescent detox programs, recovery housing access and peer support for past and present users, funding access for transportation to programs and creating a community anti-drug coalition that engages drug prevention efforts.
To accomplish all this, the task force will be working with 19 partners, mostly nonprofit groups based in health and recovery, like Park Place Behavioral Health. It’s CEO Garrett Griffin called the effort taken on by the county and its task force, “An honest opportunity for providers to receive life-saving and lifechanging money.”
Denita Pimienta, Executive Director of Children Athletes & Artists Involved in Recreational Events (CAAIRE), a nonprofit youth development organization, said the initiatives that the settlement fund will be saving lives.
“This is an opportunity for collaboration is something we’ve never had before,” she said.
The next steps will be for the Task Force to solicit formal applications to agencies that will carry out approved recommendations, submit a Complete Opioid Settlement Funds Implementation Plan to the state’s Department of Children and Families, and work with the County Attorney Office to develop agreements for approved providers.
“This is such important work,” said County Commission Chair Cheryl Grieb.
