Based on input from a 2024 public survey and feedback from affiliated providers and community partners, Atlantic County plans to allocate $850,000 in additional settlement funds from national lawsuits with opioid manufacturers and distributors for treatment, prevention and case management efforts throughout the county.
“We’re dealing with a pervasive national epidemic,” County Executive Dennis Levinson said in a statement. “You need not look very far to see and feel its impact.”
In 2022, Atlantic County had 255 suspected drug deaths, the third highest in the state after Essex County with 450 and Camden County with 354, according to a county news release.
Levinson said that while the settlement funds are certainly helpful, he wants to be judicious in how the money is spent so it can serve the greatest good and make the most meaningful impact.
Atlantic County formed an opioid settlement committee of community stakeholders in 2022 shortly after the state was awarded more than $640 million in settlement funds, half of which was to be distributed among local governments with populations of 10,000 or more residents.
The Atlantic County Opioid Settlement Committee accepted initial funding proposals and in 2023 provided $285,000 to expand treatment and transportation opportunities.
In early 2024, it provided a survey to further gauge needs and help direct funding moving forward. More than 500 people responded with their feedback.
The committee will now seek new proposals to address these needs that include: the prohibitive cost of treatment, inadequate funding for sober living housing and transportation, continuum of care services following treatment, understaffed service providers, and access to education and training programs.
Requests for Proposals will be issued this fall for 2025 funding programs.
“The existing treatment, prevention and case management programs in Atlantic County do a tremendous job with the resources available to them, but the opioid problem continues to grow,” Levinson said. “This funding will improve their ability to expand their reach and hopefully reduce the number of tragic endings.”
