Tompkins County Opioid Task Force Inviting Applicants For Community Project Grants

By Matt Dougherty

The Tompkins County Opioid Task Force has announced $700,000 in available grant funding for community not-for-profit organizations seeking to further address the opioid crisis. These funds are separate from the additional $800,000 that is going through the community service board.

The Task Force is now seeking applicants who will serve Tompkins County residents by strengthening the local overdose prevention network, expanding harm reduction strategies and improving collaboration, and workforce investment. An application overview has been published on the Tompkins County website and applicants are invited to fill out the online application form by 5 p.m. on June 30.

The grant program will support two pools of awardees. Pool A with maximum awards of $165,000 and Pool B with maximum awards of $10,000. Awards may be distributed in one lump sum amount or broken out into year-to-year amounts based on the program budget, though Pool A awardees must commit to continue program activities for at least three years.

The grant program follows a survey recently issued by the Task Force and completed by nearly 600 local individuals. Survey results are being reviewed by the Task Force and will help to inform the grant application process. Applications will be scored based on the quality of program design, demonstrated capability, and cost efficiency.

Funds that will be used for this grant program were received by Tompkins

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County following a billion dollar settlement in 2022 between a group of state attorneys general and several large drug companies such as Purdue Pharma and Johnson & Johnson.

The settlement is related to the role those drug companies played in the opioid crisis by pushing opioids like Oxycontin, Vicodin, morphine and methadone on the public without disclosing their massively addictive side effects to patients.

According to the CDC, the drug overdose epidemic continues to worsen in the United States. A majority of drug overdose deaths involve opioids. Locally, overdoses and drug-related deaths have been on the rise and Tompkins County Whole Health publishes local data related to overdoses.

The increase has also been driven by increasing supply of more potent synthetic opioids like fentanyl. According to the CommonWealth Fund fentanyl is responsible for nearly 70% of drug overdoses.

Tompkins County Whole Health Commissioner and Task Force Co-Chair Frank Kruppa stated, “Our hope is that this grant program can help strengthen proven harm reduction and overdose prevention strategies while uncovering new ways to address the opioid crisis. We have a robust and innovative community of not-for-profit agencies who now have access to this funding. Our Task Force will determine which programs can best meet our community’s needs and prevent harm due to opioids.”

Legislator and Task Force Co-Chair Travis Brooks stated, “This is a great opportunity for flexible funding made available through the County to address a serious issue. We have to look at this crisis differently because it’s getting worse — the opioid crisis is impacting a lot of other important initiatives in our community; housing, emergency medical services, education, and mental health to name a few.” Brooks continued, “Our Task Force is eager to review applications and get money out the door to make an impact on this crisis.”