Latest news with #opioidsettlement
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Albuquerque to spend $4.5M in opioid settlement funds on addiction recovery projects
Jun. 1—Members of the Albuquerque City Council and the mayor's office came together Wednesday to mark the signing of legislation that allocates portions of the historic opioid settlement — one of the largest in history to be doled out to local governments. Mayor Tim Keller signed legislation that enables $4.5 million from opioid settlement money to fund three Gateway Center projects, all meant to alleviate drug use and homelessness in Albuquerque. "People who need treatment and addiction help, the most in need, will now have a home and we'll actually be able to open this very shortly," Keller said while at the soon-to-be-opened Medical Sobering Center. According to the legislation, this money goes to three projects. The largest allocation, $2.25 million, was designated for the Medical Sobering Center, which will provide space for up to 50 individuals to recover from severe intoxication and is set to open in later this summer. Another $1.4 million was allocated to the First Responder Receiving Area, a facility where police and other first responders can transport individuals in need of drug and mental health services outside regular hours. Lastly, $950,000 is allocated to Gateway Recovery, a city-owned community of 46 tiny homes where individuals recovering from addiction can reside and receive treatment for a year. In all, Albuquerque is set to receive about $80 million over the next 18 years. That money must be used to remediate the effects of the opioid epidemic, per the settlement agreement. All the money stems from a settlement after local governments across the country sued pharmaceutical companies for overprescribing opioids. The resulting settlement, which followed hundreds of deaths in New Mexico, led to a windfall of funding for local governments. More recently, rates of fatal overdoses have decreased two years in a row since 2021, when the number of deaths peaked at 1,029 deaths, according to data compiled by the New Mexico Department of Health. The same data set also said that fentanyl was involved in 65% of overdose deaths in 2023, the year with the most recent available data. "We created a world of people that were addicted to opiates," said Jennifer Burke, executive director of Serenity Mesa Recovery Center. "And when they couldn't get their opiates anymore, fentanyl was there waiting for them." However, decisions about how to allocate the money led to a split between some council members and the mayor's office. The mayor's office sought additional funding for Gateway services, while the council proposed distributing the funds to nonprofits that support individuals experiencing addiction. The council's plan followed dozens of meetings between councilors and Bernalillo County commissioners. "It was a period of about two years to go through this process of getting community input, finding out how those funds should be used according to the community — which is what they were for — and then coming up with a plan," Councilor Tammy Fiebelkorn said. That same plan also allocated funds for the mayor's office, which the council later allocated toward the three projects celebrated on Wednesday. However, despite the reconciliation and the bill signing, councilors and the mayor sought to convey a message that the work was not over. "We are at the precipice," Councilor Nichole Rogers said. "We are right there, and things like this (Medical Sobering Center) coming online are just going to help us really meet people where they are and connect them to the help so that they can get to self-sufficiency."
Yahoo
29-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
$4.5M from opioid settlement will be used to bolster Gateway Center resources
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – Millions of dollars in opioid settlement funds will be used for services throughout the Gateway Center in Albuquerque. $4.5 million has been allocated to boost recovery housing, the gateway's medical sobering center, and the first responder receiving area. This money is part of a larger $20 million package to bolster access to treatment and housing. To date, nearly $6 million in opioid settlement funding has been allocated to gateway recovery for both construction and operations. City of Albuquerque looks to catch up on backlog of needed trash bins 'This is such an important thing for the community, and I think that it's been a long time coming, and it hasn't been an easy road. But I think we're going to see payoff and see the ability to help people in this building,' said Albuquerque City Councilor Tammy Fiebelkorn. Over the last several years, billions of dollars have been awarded to cities, states, and counties around the country. It comes from drug manufacturers and distributors, settling lawsuits for their role in the opioid epidemic. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
