Eau Claire Health Department Seeking Proposals for Opioid Funds

The Eau Claire City-County Health Department is inviting community organizations to submit proposals for opioid treatment and recovery funds.

According to City officials, the health department is planning to use about $50,000 in opioid settlement funding to support projects aiming to reduce opioid misuse and overdoses. Project proposals should align with the County Opioid Settlement Plan as well as seek to strengthen the community response to the opioid crisis through outreach and support services.

The funding comes from various lawsuit settlements against opioid manufacturers over recent years. Eau Claire County is expected to receive about $5 million of the funding through 2038. A community survey conducted by the health department also showed that local residents want the funding to go towards prevention, harm reduction, and recovery programs.

Much of the funding has already gone to those programs in Eau Claire, most notably for a harm reduction vending machine in the County jail lobby. According to health department officials, that vending machine is available 24 hours per day, seven days per week. They also say the vending machine has already distributed over 2,000 boxes of Narcan and over 1,000 fentanyl test strip kits.

Narcan is one of the most common items found in the vending machines across the state, used to reverse the effects of an opioid overdose in an emergency. State Senator Jeff Smith and State Representative Jodi Emerson have also introduced legislation seeking to require all schools in Wisconsin to have Narcan available.

The application is available on the Eau Claire City-County Health Department website and must be submitted by February 27th. Funding will be available for the chosen projects from April 1st to December 31st.