ALLEN COUNTY — Following a lawsuit by the State of Ohio, the Allen County Commissioners partnered with OneOhio to combat opioids one day at a time. OneOhio is a non-profit organization that focuses on distributing funds from lawsuits against companies that played a role in the creation/distribution of opioids.
Allen County Commissioners met Tuesday morning to discuss the potential monies from the opioid settlement. According to the Ohio attorney general’s website, in 2021, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost announced a settlement of $808 million from three major companies that distributed opioids.
The monies awarded were distributed to counties across the State of Ohio to aid with recovery programs.
“We have joined with OneOhio and have been following every opportunity to sign up for these OneOhio dollars,” said Allen County Commissioner Beth Seibert.
Seibert said Allen County Commissioners have received $100,000 and the City of Lima has received $45,000 from OneOhio. Seibert said they are expecting to receive very similar amounts annually for the next 18 years.
The Allen County Prosecutor’s Office informed the county commissioners of another lawsuit against the major drug stores. The commissioners plan to make a decision Thursday to pursue the monies at their meeting.
“This Friday, we are bringing together a large group of people representing the 22 political subdivisions including the townships, the county, the villages and the cities in Allen County,” said Seibert. “We have also invited agencies who are interested in utilizing and putting those opioid dollars to work at combating the opioid crisis in Allen County. It is our hope that we are positioning ourselves collectively as Allen County and all of those parties to go after additional dollars from the regional level.”
Seibert plans to meet with the subdivisions and agencies to further determine how the county should apply for the funding.
“What I am hearing from agencies serving this crisis, is that it (opioid use) has had a dramatic effect on mental health,” said Seibert. “It has had a dramatic effect on families. It has had a dramatic effect on incarceration and equally, it has had an effect on how we get people back to work.”
Reach Precious Grundy at 567-242-0351.
