Guilford County holds community meeting on opioid settlement funding

Guilford County is working to determine how to use nearly $22 million to address the opioid crisis.  The funding comes from a state settlement with drug distributors and manufacturers. 

The county convened its first community input session on Friday to begin designing a strategic plan for the money. In a release, officials say the goal is to identify new approaches to the crisis and “to expand existing treatment, recovery, and support of residents with opioid use disorder.”

So far, Guilford has appropriated about $300,000 from the settlement. Much of that is funding this planning process. Another chunk paid for the hiring of the county’s first and only drug and injury prevention manager. 

At a meeting on Thursday, commissioners asked Guilford County Director of Public Health Dr. Iulia Vann if that one position is enough to serve the entire county during this process.

“I think that after we're going to take a look at that, and what do we want to really engage in and what initiatives we would want to put forth in the county," said Vann. "We might need to have a conversation about what additional resources that we have.” 

The initial strategic planning process is set to continue through the summer. After it concludes, officials will present their recommendations to the Board of Commissioners.