Communities Use Opioid Settlement Funds to Gain Insights

Some Colorado Communities Are Using Opioid Settlement Funds to Gain Addiction and Mental Health Insights

In 2022, the United States reached a $50 billion settlement with the manufacturers, distributors, and pharmacies that were part of making and selling opioids. The funds are distributed to all U.S. states over 18 years and are intended to help counter the devastating impact of the nation’s ongoing opioid epidemic. According to the CDC, more than 806,000 Americans died as a result of the opioid epidemic, which started in the mid- to late-1990s as a result of aggressive sales of highly addictive opioid medications like OxyContin, oxycodone, and hydrocodone.

States began receiving opioid settlement funds in 2022. Colorado’s share of the funds is $880 million, 60 percent of which is allocated to “Regional Abatement Councils” (RACs) that determine the most effective use of the funding to address regional needs. While all funds are intended for opioid abatement, the RACs determine how to allocate the monies to meet the needs of residents in their respective regions. Some regional councils are increasing treatment capacity, bolstering harm reduction services, enhancing peer support services, and providing education on opioids and public safety messages.

Region Five (also known as the Opioid Abatement Council) comprises Eagle, Garfield, Lake, Pitkin, and Summit Counties. OAC Five leadership includes elected officials, people with lived recovery experience, judicial officials, law enforcement, substance use disorder treatment professionals, and other stakeholders. One of the ways the Region 5 council is using the funds is to gain new and important insights into the mental and behavioral health of the region’s residents. A dashboard created by Region Five provides statistics on Income, Housing Stability, Food Security, and Social Vulnerability — the so-called social determinants of health. It also reports key information about the region’s mental health, substance use, and access to care.

Among other significant findings, the dashboard indicates that residents in Region Five counties fare relatively well in terms of household income, employment, labor participation, and access to healthy foods. However, like many other rural areas, the region lags behind the rest of Colorado in access to mental healthcare. This region’s adults report significantly higher rates of “heavy drinking” and “binge drinking.”

Access to this kind of information is helpful to elected officials and other public health stakeholders. The ability to measure rates of mental health, substance use, and access to necessary resources is crucial to ensuring the success of steps taken to address the opioid epidemic and other behavioral healthcare problems.

Foundry Steamboat, an NRT Behavioral Health men’s residential treatment program located in Steamboat Springs, in Routt County, which borders Region Five. Foundry Steamboat clients come from across the state, but many are residents of Western Colorado rural communities, which experience similar lifestyles and challenges. Many of the men who come to Foundry Steamboat to treat addiction nd co-occurring mental health disorders live in communities and family systems that are permissive or encouraging of substance use. As in Region Five counties, many rural communities report significantly higher rates of alcohol and drug use than in the rest of the state.

Helping men and their family members learn how to create a recovery-supportive lifestyle and home environment is a central component of Foundry Steamboat programming. A robust family program that provides education and coaching to clients and family members helps clients understand the importance of seeking treatment for depression, anxiety, and other mental health disorders, as opposed to using substances to cope. Learning to mask the symptoms of untreated mental health problems is a leading trigger for the development of substance use disorders and addiction.

If you or a loved one needs help, please call an experienced Foundry Steamboat team member at (844) 955-1066.