Over the last two years, Guilford County government has received a lot of extra funding from various federal and state relief programs, and now the county is also getting extra funds from the private sector. Guilford County will get a portion of the $26 billion legal settlement that state and local governments have reached with major opioid makers and distributors.
The money is going to be used to fund resources that help address the harm caused by the opioid epidemic, and county officials want to hear from residents as to how that money can best be used.
Earlier this year, Johnson & Johnson, AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health and McKesson agreed to pay a total of $26 billion to settle claims that their companies’ practices promoted and perpetuated the nation’s deadly opioid crisis.
According to county officials, “the settlement funds received by Guilford County will allow for new approaches and expansion of existing efforts to assist with the treatment, recovery, and support of our residents with substance use disorder.”
That’s where local residents and community organizations come in. Guilford County leaders are asking residents how the settlement funding should be used.
Organizations can now fill out an online “Partner Organization Interest Form” to express interest in participating in the response or to offer other ideas.
The county also plans to hold “community engagement sessions” to help determine funding priorities and also help people better understand the possible uses of settlement funds.
County leaders will be seeking ideas that help complement current efforts against the opioid abuse epidemic. Here are some of the ways Guilford County and its partners are currently battling opioid abuse…
•The Guilford County Solution to the Opioid Problem (GCSTOP) – a joint effort between Guilford County and UNC-Greensboro to address the opioid epidemic.
•Save A Life Guilford – a collaboration between Guilford County’s Department of Public Health, GCSTOP, Triad Adult and Pediatric Medicine and other organizations to combat the opioid crisis and provide needed resources.
•The NC FIT Program. NC FIT provides resources and support to those leaving prisons and jails in an effort to allow them to become self-sufficient and healthy members of society.
The input from citizens to county leaders will help shape the county’s response as well as how the new funding is used.
In Guilford County, those who are battling opioid addiction, or know someone who is, can call 336-890-2700 for help.
Give it back to taxpayers. They were ripped off this year in property taxes. Now property has loss value will they charge the same tax rate next year is the question?
How about reducing the county’s debt?
When does the govt do anything “wisely”. Examples, anyone?
Provide money to those who assist law enforcement in naming, showing and providing reliable information to get the drug dealers (peddlers) eliminated.
How about using that money for Skippy’s wish list instead of passing the cost to the taxpayers. I don’t know about ya’ll but I’m tapped out.
Use that money to build your homeless shelters….betting county leaders will whiz it away on some trivial wasteful program.
I say just throw it up in the air and let the wind blow it. It has to have better landing than what I have seen lately with the Guilford County Commissioners. Maybe some of it will land in someone else’s hands who will have better judgement.
The pharma, medical, government complex is wholly responsible for pushing all manner of harmful pills on the public for decades and will continue to do so funded by minute “penalties” and more bureaucracy that exists mainly to perpetually grow itself. An easy first step would be to legalize all natural harmless remedies that have been used through all of human history and arresting the government’s gatekeepers ,doctors, pharmacy workers, and drug company executives and charge them with the many thousands of deaths from pills that have been known as deadly since at least hundreds of years. Maybe raid all the pharmacies and destroy all the pills that kill…..probably too much tax revenue to be made peddling them to folks for that to ever happen.
Give us a tax break!!
No worries, old Skip Alston will spend it. He will shuttle some of the money to his favorites. He already did to the Sheriff (17% raise), for a Sheriff that cant keep employees (100 openings), a Sheriff that has had what, 5 deaths in his Jail under his watch. To a Sheriff that has Civil suits against him personally. When will those stories come out Media???? If the residents of Guilford County only knew, they wouldn’t have voted the Sheriff in that had previously been fired from 2 previous Law Enforcement jobs. I guess we are stuck with him for another 4 years. Time to move to Davidson or Randolph County with lower taxes, less crime and Professional Sheriffs.
The money should be used to renovate one of the empty warehouses and create rooms to take in people with addictions and no insurance for free treatment. Once person completes detox then should have to attend NA and AA on-site. Also offer GED and basic computer class onsite. Organization create contracts to employ these people once through specific drug free period to employ them and person to pay percentage of check towards keep and another percentage towards savings for place to live then rest of check distributed as needed for personal items which the organization can create a shopping day to Walmart for all people to do they’re shopping. Also, no visitors allowed and drug test daily.
When has Guilford County ever wisely spent any money?