Franklin County Awards Grants For Opioid Remediation Projects, Initiatives

CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. - The Franklin County Commissioners awarded $261,000 in grants to support projects and initiatives to combat the ongoing opioid epidemic. Funding for these grants, which are administered by Franklin/Fulton Drug and Alcohol, comes from Franklin County's allotment of nationwide settlements with drug manufacturers and distributors.

Franklin County is one of nearly 2,800 counties across the country that will receive funding through two settlements as a result of a multistate investigation into the manufacture, distribution and promotion of opioids. Through these agreements, several drug manufacturers, drug distributors and pharmacy chains will pay billions of dollars over the next two decades for their roles in the opioid crisis.

Pennsylvania will receive more than $2.2 billion through these settlements and individual counties have started to receive the money for remediation efforts on the local level. Franklin County and local municipalities with more than 10,000 residents - the Borough of Chambersburg, the Borough of Waynesboro and Antrim, Hamilton, Greene, Guilford and Washington townships - partnered to secure the maximum awards available to Franklin County, which could be as much as $6.5 million distributed in installments through 2040.

In July, the county announced four separate grant opportunities to Franklin County organizations and other entities for prevention programs and abatement strategies to stem future opioid use. Based on recommendations of the county's opioid settlement steering committee, the grants focused on the following areas:

• Prevention: expanding education for youth and at-risk populations;
• Recovery and treatment: increasing access to recovery services and expanding recovery housing;
• Community harm reduction: broadening harm reduction strategies, including naloxone distribution; and
• Pregnant women and families: developing specialized programs for mothers and children

Each grant application outlined specific eligible uses based on the parameters established by the national settlements as well as detailed, recommended grant amounts. Recipients awarded grants were:

• Healthy Community Partnership - $30,000 to implement a media campaign focused on substance use awareness and prevention;
• Shippensburg University - $15,000 to promote harm reduction and prevent overdose deaths;
• Leah's Legacy - $50,000 to expand warm hand-off programs and recovery services;
• Noah's House Inc. - $50,000 to expand recovery housing and services;
• Pyramid Healthcare - $26,000 to enhance access treatment and recovery services for Hispanic populations;
• Mental Health Association - $50,000 to develop a peer recovery center in Chambersburg and a satellite location in Waynesboro; and
• House of Hope - $40,000 to support individuals transitioning from incarceration back into the community

The county has contracted with Insight LLC to assist in the management and oversight of these grant-funded projects. The firm will aid recipients with data collection as required by the grant program, ensure initiatives remain on track with both their original intent as well as within the parameters of approved uses and strategies, and analyze the results of each initiative for effectiveness to inform future funding decisions and to identify any unmet needs.

"We are grateful to those organizations that have seized this opportunity to work toward building resiliency against future opioid usage in our communities," said Franklin County Commissioner Chairman Dean Horst. "We are optimistic that these efforts will go a long way in assisting those in recovery and helping stem the usage of opioids in the future."

Franklin County leveraged funding from these settlements to address critical workforce needs in recovery support services. This included hosting certified recovery specialist (CRS) and certified family recovery specialist (CFRS) training to fill workforce openings and strengthen services for individuals and their families. The county also created a full-time recovery support specialist position within the Franklin County Jail to develop and implement a comprehensive recovery program for inmates. Additionally, the county established a position for a recovery-oriented systems of care specialist to drive transformative, recovery-focused initiatives, champion comprehensive support for recovery efforts, and expand services to meet the diverse needs of all Franklin County residents.

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