Connie Mendel, interim chief health strategist at the Louisville Metro Department of Public Health and Wellness, spoke at the July 13 announcement that Louisville would receive $57 million from opioid settlements with drug companies. (Kentucky Lantern Photo by Sarah Ladd).
LOUISVILLE – The board tasked with spending Louisville’s opioid settlement money has asked organizations to apply for grants to help prevent addiction and offer long term recovery support.?
The Louisville Opioid Distribution Settlement Advisory Board will give out $5.3 million in its second grant round a little more than a month after it was established. It seeks proposals from organizations that serve Jefferson Countians.?
The Request for Applications (RFA) deadline is 3 p.m. on Nov. 27. There will also be a virtual meeting on Nov. 6 at 2 p.m., and applicants should attend and ask questions, the city’s health department said in a statement. Meeting details are on the RFA application.?
The board will recommend recipients to Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg and the Metro Council in December, the health department said.?
“We invite proposals from organizations who want to develop, implement, expand or enhance programs that will lead to preventing youth from experimenting or using opioids, help more people get connected to harm reduction services and treatment, and help individuals sustain long-term recovery,” Dr. Inder Singal, co-chair of the advisory board and interim medical director for the Louisville Metro Department of Public Health and Wellness, said in a statement.?
Proposals should be evidence-based or informed, include data to support the need for such a project, include details about the target service population, include success measuring metrics and? show that the organization applying has knowledge of the service population.?
“Our goal is to increase opportunities for everyone to live their healthiest life and reach their full human potential,” Connie Mendel, co-chair of the advisory board and interim chief health strategist, said in a statement. “Our first round of funding focused on organizations and strategies that would immediately save lives. With this second round of funding, we are looking forward to reviewing proposals with innovative and evidence-based solutions for substance use prevention, and addressing the needs of people who experience the greatest barriers to accessing treatment and recovery services.”?
The city said in July that it would spend $57 million from opioid settlements on harm reduction services and other outreaches.?
That money comes from CVS, Walgreens, Teva and Allergan following national settlements in June.?
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Sarah Ladd
Sarah Ladd is a Louisville-based journalist from West Kentucky who's covered everything from crime to higher education. She spent nearly two years on the metro breaking news desk at The Courier Journal. In 2020, she started reporting on the COVID-19 pandemic and has covered health ever since. As the Kentucky Lantern's health reporter, she focuses on mental health, LGBTQ+ issues, children's welfare, COVID-19 and more.
Kentucky Lantern is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.
