The Public Safety Committee of the City of Henderson met Wednesday to discuss several topics including planning for how to spend money coming the city’s way from the second wave of the national opioid settlement.
Sara Coffey chairs the committee, which includes Melissa Elliott, Lamont Noel and Jason Spriggs. They were joined by City Manager Terrell Blackmon and assistant manager Paylor Spruill to discuss possible uses for the money, which is expected to be about $166,000. The city of Henderson got more than $200,000 in the first wave of the opioid settlement.
The city is one on only a handful of municipalities to get an appropriation – the bulk of the $600 million of North Carolina’s second-wave allotment goes to counties – Blackmon said.
And the money is supposed to be spent on treatment for those with opioid addiction, he noted.
One form of treatment is administration of NARCAN, which reverses the overdose effect of opioids. It’s a nasal spray and is fairly simple to administer.
Perhaps some of the funds – which the city will receive over the course of time and not in a lump sum – could be used to purchase NARCAN and have it available for use by police officers, first responders and even in schools.
This approach would satisfy the requirement that the money be used in ways that help people affected by opioids. Spruill said in the meeting that an over-the-counter form will be available soon.
The medicine causes no harm if administered to someone who isn’t in an opioid crisis, but it can be life-saving if administered to someone who is overdosing.
Coffey said she would hope the money would be used to help prevent more opioid issues in the community; she said first responders and the hospital deal with overdoses every single day.
This topic is on the agenda for the April 10 City Council meeting.
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