.jpg)
Families Harmed by Opioids Apply for Opioid Settlement Funding
A new partnership of families hurt by opioid use and opioid overdose has applied for opioid settlement funding to help families and children directly harmed by Ohio’s opioid epidemic.
The Ohio Partnership for Families Impacted by Opioids (Impacted Families) is a new and novelpartnership to ensure a legacy of hope and security for the many Ohio families affected by the opioid crisis. The partnership’s mission is to support a collaborative, family-centered approach to strengthenand uplift Ohio communities hit hard by the opioid crisis.
“The people who are a part of Impacted Families know that the wrongs that have been inflicted on theirfamilies cannot be remedied, but these dollars being distributed by the state as a consequence must provide support and real impact to and for families who are left to navigate lives ruined by the pharmaceutical industries havoc,” says Impacted Families co-chair and OhioCAN founder and executive director, Cindy Koumoutzis.
The request for funding was made to the non-profit OneOhio Recovery Foundation, which will receive 55% of the $2 billion in opioid settlement money that Ohio will receive over 18 years. OneOhio will approve its first round of opioid settlement grants that equal over $50 million this summer. Applications closed Friday.
Family groups already working to help those harmed by opioids joined together to form a partnership torequest settlement funds to support and expend their efforts. Health Impact Ohio, a Columbus-based non-profit health improvement collaborative, will serve as fiscal administrator for the effort.
"It is vitally important to communities that are disproportionately impacted by the Opioid crisis to know that they have not been forgotten. Having a group of diverse voices representing impacted families come together to address the devastating impact to families represents real change in how we most address those Ohioans that have been harmed by opioids." says Yvonka Hall, Impacted Families co-chair and Executive Director of member organization the Northeast Ohio Black Health Coalition.
The family groups involved include:• OhioCAN Change Addiction Now • Northeast Ohio Black Health Coalition• Ohio Grandparent/Kinship Coalition.• Ohio Federation for Health Equity and Social Justice• Harm Reduction Ohio• BirdieLight• Kinship Caregivers Connect• Ohio Family Care Association• Keys 2 Serenity
.jpg)
The proposals submitted to OneOhio Foundation by Impacted Families include a diverse set of funding opportunities based on the needs of each region applying including (but not limited to): • An emergency fund that families can apply to for urgent needs such as funeral costs, utility payments, medical bills, daily hygiene, transportation costs, etc.• Funds to already functioning programs such as free stores, harm reduction services, food access programs to help sustain programs that are already successfully serving the community but are at risk of closing due to lack of funding• Funds to support programs around the state that will educate peer support groups on Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACES) and health equity• Funding of regional family project coordinators• Dollars to support kinship peer mentors• Resources to support weekly support and recovery meetings.
.jpg)
.jpeg)
Koumoutzis stated, “This is a ‘nothing about us without us’ scenario and it must be a priority that the opioid settlement dollars go to the people who have been directly impacted by this crisis. We have lost our parents, children, sisters, brothers and friends. We are left picking up the pieces and we deserve to have our efforts supported by the funds that will never right the wrongs of the pharmaceutical companies, but will help us rebuild the lives we have left.”
Ohio Partnership for Families Impacted by Opioids (Impacted Families) is a new and novel partnership vision of Ohioans directly impacted by opioid use and overdose death. The partnership’s mission is to support a collaborative family approach that strengthens, empowers, and uplifts Ohio communities affected by the historical, current, and future opioid crisis. It seeks to leverage opioid settlement spending at the state, regional and local level to support existing efforts families have already undertaken. The Impacted Families’ guiding principles are to educate about the opioid crisis; advocate for impacted families to have a seat at the decision making table; and promote healing for families, especially children, devastated by opioids.
Health Impact Ohio (HIO) is a 501 (c) 3 non-profit statewide health improvement collaborative. Together, Impacted Facted Families for family-led, family focused programming, including emergency aid funding to families, prevention, outreach and engagement and kinship supports, all with a focus on health equity and meeting families impacted by opioids where they are in their journey in grappling with and/or recovering from the devastation of opioids.
HIO’s mission is to improve social drivers of health, health equity, access, and quality in all communities, through community engagement and partnership; multi-stakeholder training and coaching; data collection and integration; and strategy development and deployment. HIO believes that all people in Ohio should have the best healthcare and social health experience possible. As a not-for-profit, non-governmental organization, HIO has demonstrated success bringing public and private entities together to learn and affect community changes in support of our most vulnerable friends and neighbors across Ohio, having done so since 1999. HIO’s work dedicates itself to a collaborative approach, ongoing assessment and continuous quality improvement for collective impact, data-driven decision-making and addressing health equity.