The Sonoma County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved $5 million in opioid settlement funding for three local organizations that will expand recovery housing, harm-reduction programs and mobile treatment services in areas hardest hit by the drug crisis.
“This is an important opportunity to make a significant impact on opioid addiction in our county,” Board of Supervisors chair Lynda Hopkins said in a statement. “With this thoughtful rollout of the initial funding coming our way, the Board is hopeful that progress in this area will accelerate. Too many lives have been ruined due to the extremely harmful nature of these substances.”
Buckelew Recovery Residences was awarded $3.87 million to add 68 housing beds across four locations, with a focus on serving the Russian River and West County. The project will target gaps in care for Black, Latino and multiracial residents, men, men with children, and people with severe substance use disorders, county officials said.
West County Health Centers will receive $637,365 for its Lower Russian River Opioid Prevention and Harm Reduction Initiative, which includes distribution of the Narcan opioid overdose reversal drug, fentanyl test strips, peer mentoring and a public awareness campaign. The Drug Abuse Alternatives Center was allocated $489,400 to expand its “Wellness on Wheels” program, adding mobile services such as naloxone distribution, syringe exchanges, school-based prevention education and testing for infectious diseases.
County officials said the funding is part of more than $14 million Sonoma County has received from national settlements with opioid manufacturers, with further payments expected over the next decade.
Authorities said opioid addiction kills an average of 12 people each month in the county, the third-highest rate in the Bay Area.
“The opioid crisis is highly complex, and thus requires a multi-faceted approach to address it,” said Nolan Sullivan, director of the county’s Department of Health Services.
Overdose deaths in Sonoma County remain above pre-pandemic levels, with men three times more likely to die from opioids than women, and the Russian River area suffering the highest rates. People experiencing homelessness account for 10% of overdose deaths while making up just 1% of the county’s population, county health officials said.
The department plans to return later this year with recommendations on how to allocate the remaining $9.1 million in settlement funds.