Local governments struggle to distribute their share of billions from opioid settlements

Suzanne Harrison, who runs King’s Crusade in honor of her brother who died of an overdose in 2016 poses for a photograph in Evesham, N.J., Tuesday, April 2, 2024. Harrison says the charity could use funding from national opioid settlements to help people if local governments made it available to groups like hers. Suzanne Harrison, who runs King’s Crusade in honor of her brother who died of an overdose in 2016 poses for a photograph in Evesham, N.J., Tuesday, April 2, 2024.

“We don’t want to be 10 years down the road and say, ‘After we screwed up tobacco, we trusted small government with opioids — and we did even worse,’” said Paul Farrell, Jr., one of the lead lawyers representing local governments in the opioid suits. By last year, most communities in Burlington County had not spent their allotted funds yet, nor had they followed advice to gather public input, devise strategic plans, conduct assessments of their communities’ needs and design processes for awarding funds.

“We’ve been trying to be aggressive about it,” Gary Lawery II, the deputy township manager, said of spending the funds. “If not, it’s just going to sit there.” In Evesham, a suburb of 45,000 that’s the most populous in Burlington County, most of the control over the settlement funds lies with the local alliance to prevent alcoholism and drug addiction, which is the sort of body Whaley says should be involved.

New Jersey Addiction And Treatment General News Domestic News PA State Wire AR State Wire Johnson Johnson N Health Politics U.S. News U.S. News

United States Latest News, United States Headlines

Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.

Jason Statham's Next Action Movie Will Redeem His $50 Million Box Office BombAuthor and editor who loves all things horror, sci-fi, and Alien. Most likely to be found at The Prince Charles, either for a classic movie screening or to throw a spoon at Tommy Wiseau. Screen Rant contributor since 2021.
Source: screenrant - 🏆 7. / 94 Read more »

Bankan gold project, GuineaPredictive Discovery has announced a A$50-million raising to advance the project.
Source: MiningWeeklyAUS - 🏆 233. / 63 Read more »

Jersey City woman charged with stealing mail from post office, but this time she didn’t catch herselfShe tried to sell the stolen credit cards for $50 to $300 each, the complaint said.
Source: njdotcom - 🏆 282. / 63 Read more »

Fanatics Sportsbook promo: Bet on NBA with $1K bet match offer or $50 bonusStart with this Fanatics Sportsbook promo and lock up bonuses for the NBA and NHL playoffs. There are pivotal games every night, which means new players can
Source: amNewYork - 🏆 336. / 59 Read more »

At this new $50 million luxury resort, Wildwood Crest meets MiamiThe new resort includes two pools, three restaurants, fitness centers and live music.
Source: PhillyDailyNews - 🏆 89. / 67 Read more »

Amazon Pet Day 2024 deals for under $50 we found while last-minute shoppingWith Amazon Pet Day ending soon, we thought we’d share some of the deals under $50 we found while window-shopping through Amazon’s digital shelves.
Source: WGAL - 🏆 331. / 59 Read more »