Anderson County gives organizations, churches $427K for fight against opioid addictions

Yahoo

02-04-2025

Several organizations within Oak Ridge and other areas of Anderson County are ready to continue fighting the ongoing battle against opioid addiction and its effects. They won grants totaling more than $427,000 from Anderson County that came from an opioid settlement.
The grants will fund a variety of programs aimed at curbing the use of opioids in the area.
Below are the organizations that will receive opioid grant funds to support awareness, treatment and counseling, housing, transportation, drug disposal, and peer support programs in Anderson County.
Free Medical Clinic, based in Oak Ridge: $81,648
Foundation House: $60,000
New Purpose: $45,000
Anderson County Recovery Court: $65,000
Main Street Baptist Church in Rocky Top: $20,000
Boys & Girls Club of the Clinch Valley in Oak Ridge: $30,000
First Methodist Church in Oak Ridge (First Recovery): $18,500
PPS & Focus Group Ministries: $35,000
Allies for Substance Abuse Prevention (ASAP): $38,796
Isaiah 117 House: $10,000
Celebrate Recovery at Heritage Fellowship Church in Oak Ridge: $13,500
Anderson County government (Project Clean Out Your Medicine Cabinet): $10,000
Anderson County Commissioner Shelly Vandagriff, who represents District 3 and serves as chairwoman of the Anderson County Opioid Settlement Committee, organized a special presentation for the awardees during the committee's meeting March 25. Mayor Terry Frank and several other county officials attended the presentation. Grant funds came from the state of Tennessee's Opioid Settlement Fund, established by state law in 2021.
The state of Tennessee will be receiving more than $1 billion over 18 years in settlement funds from several large corporations "due to the extensive damage and loss of life caused by the opioid crisis that was brought on by the unethical and over-prescribing of opioid medications," according to a previous county news release.
'Using the Opioid Settlement and Remediation funds, we have the opportunity to support education and recovery programs serving our county, leading to improved outcomes for those suffering with addiction,' Vandagriff said.
'The organizations that received these funds are filling in the gaps in recovery support and prevention efforts in our county. We were able to grant funds for transportation, housing, education, and access to mental health care. I am excited to see the impact these grants will have on the future of Anderson County,' she added.
The Anderson County Commission authorized the creation of an Opioid Settlement Task Force in 2023. The task force members – a small group of county commissioners – conducted several public sessions, including at least three 'town hall' meetings throughout Anderson County in 2023 and 2024. County Commission changed the task force to a full committee in early 2025.
After hosting the town hall-style meetings and other sessions and working with staff from the Anderson County Finance Department and the University of Tennessee at Knoxville to create the application process, the committee opened an online portal – created by Anderson County Tourism Director Stephanie Wells – to accept applications from the community for the $427,444 in allocated state opioid funds that were initially given by the state to Anderson County. The state plans to disburse funds of differing amounts to the counties each year.
Jan. 31 was the application deadline for the initial round of grants. And upon review, committee members made their funding recommendation to both the Anderson County Budget Committee and County Commission. Those recommendations were agreed upon by county commissioners at their regular meeting on March 17.
Each grant awardee will be required to enter a contract, effective July 1, 2025, with Anderson County government before spending their grant funds.
The county Finance Department will work with the University of Tennessee's SMART Initiative to create a draft contract as well as finalize parameters for how best to provide data on programs, outcomes, and their impact and effectiveness. The UT Substance Misuse and Addiction Resource for Tennessee (SMART) Initiative, according to its website, guides community leaders in implementing evidence-based, cost-effective strategies to mitigate damage from substance use disorder and the opioid epidemic.
Tennessee's Opioid Abatement Council was created by the Tennessee General Assembly in Public Chapter 491 to manage disbursement to the state's 95 counties of proceeds from lawsuits relating to opioids. The council upholds the responsibility to ensure the disbursements of these funds go toward funding programs, strategies, expenditures, and other actions designed to prevent and address the misuse and abuse of opioid products and treat or mitigate opioid use or related disorders or other effects of the opioid epidemic.
This article originally appeared on Oakridger: Anderson County organizations get $427K to fight opioid addiction