The Berrien County Board of Commissioners will soon consider two proposals for use of the county’s opioid settlement money.
Speaking to commissioners this week, Berrien County Health Officer Guy Miller said the county is to receive about $8 million in the next 16 years as a result of a national settlement with the makers of opioids. The county has for the past year been studying how to use the dollars to combat opioid abuse and issued a request for proposals to local organizations late last year.
Miller said six proposals came in.
“We received six applications, and two of them were selected for award,” Miller said. “I have to say we saw some remarkable applications. The whole purpose of the review committee was to get good feedback back to those applications because we pointed out a few things like, hey, you need to work on this area here. Hey, if you’re citing a partnership, make sure you’re including a letter of recommendation or a letter of reference from that organization. I think there’s a lot of proposals that we’ll see again.”
The two proposals being advanced to the county commission are from the First Church of God and the Sacred Heart Rehabilitation Center.
The First Church of God is planning to introduce transitional housing for those being released from jail. The program would include a variety of support services.
Sacred Heart is proposing the creation of a therapist position and peer recovery coaches for those who are struggling. Miller said the proposals will go to commissioners.
The next step is the establishment of an Opioid Oversight Committee to review how the county’s opioid dollars are being used.
