MILWAUKEE, WI – The Milwaukee County Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) will be regranting opioid settlement funds to community providers in the coming months. The first step in the process is soliciting input from the community on how the funds should be invested. Two virtual community conversations are scheduled for February 21, 3:30 – 5:30 p.m., and February 23, 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Those interested in attending the community conversations, can register by clicking this link: Register for virtual community conversations. Session attendees will be able to share their ideas, learn more about the regarding process and get technical assistance.
“The opioid settlement funds are a game changer in our fight against overdose deaths. This significant investment in preventing and treating substance abuse in Milwaukee County and move us closer to becoming the healthiest county in the state,” said Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley. “By regranting funds to community partners, DHHS is expanding the effort to be highly effective and setting us up to have the greatest impact.”
At the virtual community conversations, the process for submitting proposals to become a sub-grantee will be outlined. Key dates in the process will be provided. Recipients of the sub-grant will implement prevention, treatment, recovery, or harm reduction services. DHHS will report on use of the funds and impact.
“We are hoping for excellent attendance at the virtual sessions. Anyone with ideas on how to prevent and treat drug use is encouraged to attend,” said Jeremy Triblett, Prevention Coordinator, DHHS Behavioral Health Services. “The opioid settlement funds present a rare opportunity to improve and grow our work in this area. We are asking the community for ideas to help us change the trends for this critical issue impacting our residents.”
DHHS’ Coordination of Opioid Prevention Services Project focuses on regranting opioid prevention and response funds to community-based organizations and increasing prevention capacity and coordination through a Prevention Manager role. This builds on DHHS’ track record of participatory and collaborative regranting processes to promote community engagement, address public health determinants, and develop grassroots providers. This has helped DHHS achieve a provider diversity rate of 45% for Black and BIPOC led non-profits and human service agencies and included impacted persons in program design, fund allocation, and program implementation.
