The Williamson County Opioid Task Force is accepting applications for Community Grants from organizations located in Tennessee to reduce opioid use and its effects in Williamson County. “Williamson County has over $1 million to distribute for the implementation of opioid remediation projects,” said Cathy Montgomery, Director of the Williamson County Health Department, and a member of the Opioid Task Force. “The Task Force is looking for evidence-based projects that provide the maximum benefit to the residents of Williamson County.” The county received funds through the National Opioid Settlement to implement projects that will serve people living and working in Williamson County.
In December of 2017, Williamson County joined litigation to hold manufacturers of prescription opioids and their related companies, and pharmaceutical wholesale drug distributors accountable for failing to do what they were charged with doing under the federal Controlled Substances Act. The Controlled Substances Act was enacted in 1970 and was designed to control the volume of opioid pills being distributed in the United States. These distributors and manufacturers failed to halt suspicious orders and control against the diversion of opioids to illegitimate uses, and today the Williamson County community is paying the price. Through this litigation Williamson County has begun receiving settlement payments, which will fund the Community Grants.
The opioid epidemic has grown worse in recent years as people who were addicted to prescription pills have turned to dangerous and illicit synthetic opioids. According to the Tennessee Department of Health, 86,557 prescriptions for opioids were filled in 2022 in Williamson County alone. The Department of Health also reported 3,814 drug overdose deaths in Tennessee in 2021, a 26% increase from the previous year.
“The opioid crisis continues to wreak havoc on the health and safety of our community. It has taken many lives and severely impacted so many others,” said Phil Mazzuca, CEO of Williamson Medical Center, and a member of the Opioid Task Force. “The Community Grants are an opportunity to fight the opioid epidemic and to prevent further harm to the people of Williamson County.”
Applications to the Community Grant fund and more information on the application process can be found online at www.williamsoncounty-tn.gov/opioid. Applications are due on or before September 29, 2023, at 2:00 p.m. CST.
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