Laramie County awards $2.1M to community orgs to fight opioid crisis
CHEYENNE – Laramie County has allocated nearly $2.2 million in federal funds to local organizations to help alleviate the impacts of the opioid crisis.
The funds come from the National Opioids Settlement after some pharmaceutical manufacturers and distributors were found to be, in part, responsible for the opioid crisis. In 2021, four companies were ordered to pay $26 billion to the federal government over nearly two decades.
Those funds are distributed to the states and then allocated to counties. To date, Wyoming has received $23.6 million of an anticipated $52.9 million in funds to be put toward programs and organizations working to address the opioid crisis.
Last year, the Laramie County Board of County Commissioners formed an Opioid Settlement Task Force to determine how to spend those funds on a local level. Over the next three years, the county will operate a grant program to distribute the funds it receives from the settlement.
In the first trial year of distributing the grant funds, Laramie County received applications from 12 organizations seeking a total of $4,750,511. Of the more than $2.5 million available to distribute, the task force selected six applicants to receive a portion of the funds, for a total of $2,178,888 distributed.
Laramie County Commission Chairman Gunnar Malm, who is also the commission's representative on the task force, said the remaining $403,144 will likely roll over into the next round of funding applications. He said if the program is successful, the county will likely open applications for funds again next year, though it is uncertain at this time how much money will be available in the future.
Gunnar Malm (Official)
Laramie County Commissioner Gunnar Malm
The success of the program will be based on reports the fund recipients submit to the county throughout the year to judge the efficacy of their efforts.
'I'm really excited to get these funds deployed in our community to tackle this really important and dire situation that we see ourselves in, in terms of opioid abuse, and I'm hopeful that we'll be able to make meaningful change,' Malm said.
One of the organizations receiving funds is Recover Wyoming. The Cheyenne-based addiction treatment center will receive the full $89,085 it applied for to expand peer-based recovery services.
Recover Wyoming Executive Director Lana Mahoney said this program will connect those suffering from opioid use disorder with peers in recovery to discuss recovery pathways, provide information and connect them with community resources.
'We recognized that there was a great need for that in the community, and that's part of the reason why we decided to focus our grant application on that specifically, is to provide that peer-based recovery support,' Mahoney said.
Currently, Recover Wyoming has a peer support program with a recovery coach and a telephone recovery support program, but these funds will support a staff hire to focus directly on the population with opioid use disorder. A stipulation of the funds distributed nationally is that they must go toward programs that directly address the opioid crisis.
Additionally, some of the funds will be used by Recover Wyoming for community education and outreach programs like the use of Narcan, also known as naloxone, advocacy work, stigma reduction and how to recognize if someone is experiencing an overdose.
Mahoney said she hopes to continue to apply for this grant in the coming years to help fund the expansion of the peer-based support program.
'I think there's going to be a continued need to support that specific population. And so regardless of if the funds continue or not, we will likely look for alternative resources to continue that work, because I think it's going to be really important,' she said.
Malm said he is pleased with the diversity of applicants that were awarded funds to address the opioid crisis from multiple angles.
'It wasn't just something that we did that was solely law enforcement focused or justice-involved people focused. There was a family component and a health component. And we were able to make sure that we used the funds across the entire community and make sure that we're doing as much good as possible with them,' he said.
The fund recipients are as follows:
* Cheyenne Fire Rescue: $499,954.22 to provide medication assisted treatment (MAT) services in conjunction with the Laramie County Detention Center and Cheyenne Regional Medical Center.
* Cheyenne Regional Medical Center: $499,869.33 to expand alternatives to opioids program, MAT Bridge clinic with CFR and Detention Center.
* HealthWorks: $500,000 to expand opioid abatement services.
* Laramie County Sheriff's Office: $275,000 for expansion/continuation of the Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion program.
* Recover Wyoming: $89,085.26 to expand peer-based recovery to individuals struggling with opioid use disorder.
* Stride: $314,980 to expand plans of safe care in the community.
Some applicants were disqualified from receiving funds based on criteria judged by the task force. Others did not receive funds for reasons like capacity concerns, limited clients served, concern of duplication or not being opioid specific.
'As a community, we really have a lot of great projects going on with the use of these funds,' Mahoney said, 'and so I'm excited to see how we can provide some wrap-around services and really are able to support all the people in Cheyenne.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CNN
33 minutes ago
- CNN
Why these actors and ‘SmartLess' podcast hosts want to help you pay less for cell service
The latest celebrity start-up trend is no longer tequila. It's telecom. Actors Sean Hayes, Will Arnett and Jason Bateman — who host the popular 'SmartLess' podcast — are launching a wireless service as an alternative to pricier unlimited data plans from major carriers like Verizon, T-Mobile or AT&T. The decision to start the company, called SmartLess Mobile, came from a simple realization: while industry giants generally push unlimited plans, most people don't actually use that much data. Even if they're glued to their phones. 'Most Americans spend almost 90% of their time under Wi-Fi. Their mobile device very seldom actually uses the actual wireless network,' said SmartLess CEO Paul McAleese, a telecom industry veteran who co-founded the company with the actors. Research published last year by the consultancy group OpenSignal found that most mobile customers spend between 77% and 88% of their on-screen time connected to a Wi-Fi network. SmartLess Mobile offers wireless plans starting at $15 per month for 5 gigabytes of high-speed data, going up to $30 monthly for 30 gigabytes. By contrast, starter unlimited plans from the major carriers range from around $35 to $65 per month. McAleese said he and Arnett started discussing the idea after the actor bought a new phone for his teenage son and was sold an unlimited plan that cost around $70 monthly. (Arnett previously served as a spokesperson for Canadian telecom giant Shaw Communications; McAleese is the company's former president.) 'And (Arnett) goes, 'Geez, it's awfully expensive,'' McAleese said in an interview with CNN. 'And I said, 'Your boy spends almost his entire life under Wi-Fi. He's at home, he's at school … he's never going to be on the network. Why would you buy all that?'' SmartLess Mobile joins a growing slate of celebrity-backed wireless carriers, including Consumer Cellular, with longtime spokesperson Ted Danson, and Ryan Reynolds' Mint Mobile, which was acquired by T-Mobile in 2023. These providers, known as mobile virtual network operators (or MVNOs), lease access to a major telecom provider's spectrum — SmartLess plans will run on T-Mobile's 5G network — and can often charge lower prices because they don't have to manage the physical infrastructure. The services have gained popularity as cell phone technology has advanced. Most phones now have digital SIM cards, making it easier for consumers to switch carriers without having to visit a retail store. And the proliferation of Wi-Fi infrastructure everywhere from subways to restaurants means many people have lesser data needs. If their partner network goes down, MVNOs do risk being the ones customers blame for losing missing service. And limited data plans aren't necessarily for everyone — ride-share drivers and delivery couriers likely use a lot more data than people who work from home or from an office with a Wi-Fi network. But the primary 'uphill battle for any MVNO is to stand out in the space,' said Jeffrey Moore, principal at wireless industry research firm Wave7, because the industry giants have much more name recognition. Major carriers also entice customers with deals on new phones, which they practically give away for free if consumers join their network. Smaller carriers 'have to stand out either in terms of offerings or in terms of marketing,' Moore said. That's where celebrity endorsements come in. SmartLess already has a significant built-in audience; the podcast ranks among the top 20 most popular shows on Apple Podcasts. And Arnett, Hayes and the SmartLess podcast have more than 2 million combined Instagram followers. 'Whether by luck or by design, they also have a brand name that has both 'smart' and 'less' in the name,' McAleese said, 'which, if you're going to be a challenger brand in this day and age, those are two pretty good head starts.' The team plans to start discussing SmartLess Mobile on the podcast in the coming weeks, he said. And the SmartLess hosts' involvement in the new carrier goes beyond typical celebrity endorsements, McAleese said. Hayes, Arnett and Bateman had already turned down the opportunity to lend their names to other types of products, and they've been involved in everything from financing to marketing the new company. 'They rely on the category for what is now one of their primary professional pursuits, which is the podcast, this is how people consume their product,' McAleese said. 'These guys are master storytellers, and they have the brand ethos of sort of an honest broker. I think it's just a perfect marriage.'
Fox News
38 minutes ago
- Fox News
Evening Edition: Long-Term Economic Impact Of Social Unrest
With violent protestors talking to the streets of Los Angeles, burning vehicles, damaging businesses and property, the economic impact begins to come into the forefront. President Trump activated the National Guard and has sent hundreds of Marines to establish order. The L.A. riots, reminiscent of those that took place five years ago in Minneapolis that caused a half a billion dollars in economic losses, could impact local businesses and the economy for years to come FOX's John Saucier speaks with Pierre Debbas, an attorney and real estate expert, and Managing Partner of Romer Debbas, LLP, who says unrest in major cities has a long, negative ripple effect on small businesses and real estate values. Click Here To Follow 'The FOX News Rundown: Evening Edition' Learn more about your ad choices. Visit
Geek Wire
38 minutes ago
- Geek Wire
AWS and national lab team up to deploy AI tools in pursuit of fusion energy
Sustainability: News about the rapidly growing climate tech sector and other areas of innovation to protect our planet. SEE MORE Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory's National Ignition Facility in Livermore, Calif. (LLNL Photo) Amazon Web Services is teaming up with Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory — home to the world's only facility to achieve fusion ignition — to develop artificial intelligence tools to advance the lab's efforts, the two announced today. AWS and LLNL's National Ignition Facility are working together to build an AI-driven troubleshooting and reliability system, and have already deployed generative AI capabilities into the fusion lab's operations. The focus is on using AI to produce real-time solutions to anomalies that arise in the research and addressing increasing operational demands. More than two years ago, NIF reported that it had produced more energy from a fusion reaction than went into it, an accomplishment known as ignition. Since then, the facility has hit that mark seven additional times, most recently in April when it nearly tripled the amount of energy produced in December 2022. Researchers internationally are trying to recreate the fusion reactions that power the Sun — developing 'star in a jar' technologies that will allow humanity to produce nearly limitless clean energy on Earth. That power is increasingly in demand as data centers continue expanding and other sectors of the economy are electrifying their operations. In the new partnership with the federal lab, AWS's AI could help solve the very energy consumption problems it is helping to create. The National Ignition Facility has hit ignition eight times in fusion experiments conducted at LLNL. (LLNL Chart) 'I'm excited to unleash the superpower that is AI on NIF operations,' said Kim Budil, director of LLNL, in a statement. 'By leveraging our extensive historical data through advanced AI techniques, we're solving today's problems faster and paving the way for predictive maintenance and even more efficient operations in the future.' Last week, Washington state companies Helion Energy, Zap Energy and Avalanche Energy participated in a Seattle-area summit to share their progress in working towards commercialized fusion. In the past they celebrated NIF's experiments as a validation that their ambitions are possible. No other facility anywhere has demonstrated fusion ignition, and NIF's objective is strictly research, as opposed to building reactors to put power on the grid. One of the interesting applications being pursued at NIF is unleashing AI on more than 98,000 archived problem logs stretching back 22 years. The documents are a trove of lessons learned, including symptoms, causes and the steps taken to fix the problems. A release from the California-based national lab said the partnership could 'establish a new standard for AI application in high-stakes scientific facilities and may influence operational approaches at other national laboratories.' David Appel, vice president of U.S. Federal Sales at AWS, called LLNL 'an innovation and scientific powerhouse, and we're extraordinarily proud of our partnership together.'
