Thomas Kinnaird from Marshall County HOPE approached the Plymouth City Council members last week to ask for the opioid settlement funds to assist the organization with continued assistance to help those suffering with substance abuse.
He explained that Marshall County HOPE was previously Project HOPE which was initiated four years ago. The work plan and funding ended in December 2023, but strategies from Project HOPE are transitioning to Marshall County HOPE.
Kinnaird, who is the coordinator, said his first order of business was to re-energize a consortium which was recently held with 26 people in attendance from all sectors of the community including social services, medical services, criminal justice and others.
“There’s a lot of passion here in Marshall County about caring for people who are struggling with substance use and addiction. It’s a very exciting time for us to be doing this work,” said Kinnaird.
The council approved restricted and unrestricted opioid funds toward Project HOPE in the past and Marshall County HOPE officials asked for that funding to continue to be used toward their renewed efforts of Marshall County HOPE. Kinnaird said continued funding will support peer recovery coaches and transportation services with Marshall County Council on Aging.
Kinnaird commented that the consortium will be meeting monthly to determine needs.
“We’re partnering with Purdue Extension to implement a tool called ‘TASK’ which will help us map out what are the resources, what are the different agencies and organizations involved with substance use treatment, prevention and recovery in Marshall County. It will map out the journey that individuals can take to see what work we’ve already done but then what are we missing. That tool will help us develop projects to fill in gaps that we identify. We’re also just a little bit over a year into a suicide overdose fatality review team. We review individuals with the help of the state Department of Health who have died from suicide or overdose. We’ll create a timeline of their life and have a deep discussion of what are we missing and how do we prevent further loss of life in this manner.”
The opioid funds are distributed by the state as a result of a multi-district, federal litigation against the manufacturers and distributors of highly addictive prescription medications in 2018. Restricted funds are to only be used for substance abuse treatment and mitigation. Unrestricted funds can be used for anything the city wants to fund.
The funding amount varies every year, as well as the schedule of distributions made to the city.
Clerk-Treasurer Lynn Gorski noted that the Plymouth City Council approved the city’s restricted and unrestricted funds for 2022 and 2023, but did not make any appropriations of funds for 2024.
City Attorney Jeff Houin recommended last week that the council not make a pledge at that time, but wait until the the council members start budget discussions for 2025. The council members unanimously approved a motion to that effect after a lengthy logistical discussion.
