Opioid Seminar Michigan Association of Counties (MAC) Convention, Grand Traverse Resort
Commissioner Report
I think fellow commissioners attending the convention might agree that the timing of programs was frustrating. Several valuable seminars were held at once on Wednesday, leading the County Board’s four representatives to divide and conquer. I chose to attend the one on strategies to best use funding Leelanau County is receiving from lawsuits filed against pharmaceutical companies over opioid promotions.
It was interesting, plus I had an opportunity to reacquaint myself with Amy Dolinky, technical advisor for opioid settlement funds planning through MAC.
Perhaps my biggest revelation came before the seminar through a discussion with another Northern Michigan commissioner whose county is due to receive $4.1 million. Leelanau County is likely to receive nearly $1 million, although a relatively small portion of those funds already has been spent.
He explained that his County Board planned to turn the monies into a revolving fund, allocating interest made on the principal as determined by an eight-person committee comprised of professionals in the field, interested residents and one or two commissioners (I can’t recall which). He was excited because the committee was about to consider spending proposals representing eight organizations.
The seminar itself was dedicated to hearing the results from four counties in Michigan, one of which was Otsego. Ellen Templeton of the Northwest Michigan Health Department discussed the department’s work through a group named RISE: Otsego Substance Free Coalition. In particular, RISE identified and empowered high school leaders in the community, including athletes, to spread its gospel. Since about half of students participate in at least one sport in Otsego County, the program had a ready-made audience.
Other county efforts were:
• Sidney Resler of Kent County discussed a need to spend a portion of opioid funds on harm reduction, which includes outreach, treatment and recovery. Opioid funds were used to distribute 11,000 fentanyl test strips in eight months. Then it was learned that a relatively new drug, metatonomy, was growing in use, so strips to identify the placement of that substance in street drugs were also distributed.
• In Monroe County, administrator Michael Bosanc discussed helping to pay for a Recovery Mobile Clinic with $35,000 annually. The county mandates a strict reporting schedule to ensure funds spent have an impact. “We say, ‘Prove it to us.’ There are no silos with our opioid program,” he said.
• The most interesting report to me came from Zachary Williams of Alcona County, who is a recovering addict and peer recovery coach. Underfunded — as in, at times, broke — but rich in enthusiasm, Zach bought a dilapidated veterinary clinic with high hopes of turning it into a halfway house for fellow recovering users. Only through a judge who believed in him did the project get off the ground. The judge vouched for Zach’s reliability at a county commissioner meeting, emphasizing that Zach had been using his own funds to rehab the commercial building. Zach bought the place for $84,000 — it was listed for $140,000 — but needed a loan for $200,000 to make it livable. Commissioners entrusted him with $35,000 as a down payment on the loan, and Zach rounded up a crew to get to work.
The project took 4 1/2 years, but was scheduled to open in 60 days with six bedrooms, three bathrooms and two living rooms within its 3,000 square feet. In all, beds will be available for 18 men.
“I had no great plan. I had a money pit,” he explained.
And a lot of sweat equity.
I don’t know if a person in Leelanau County is an opioid grant away from making a similar miracle come true, but I know Leelanau County is working to put itself in a similar position as Otsego. We need to have a real and calculable impact on our community with our opioid funds.
