Genesee County could receive around $1 million to battle the opioid epidemic in funding from New York State’s legal settlement with various manufacturers and distributors which have been deemed responsible for perpetuating the opioid crisis.
Attorney General Letitia James announced today that she will be embarking upon a “HealNY’ tour to dole out up to $1.5 billion to all regions of the state. All 62 counties in New York will receive funds from the settlements.
CLICK HERE for today’s press release from James’ office.
Genesee County Manager Matt Landers reacted to the news that the county is in line to get anywhere from $597,359.78 to $1,043,594.62.
“We will be meeting internally and with related agencies to better understand where we should put those monies and what limitations there are to those monies, so hopefully we will have a plan relatively soon,” he said. “It’s quite a large range so, until we know better what the exact amount is, that is going to drive what we want to fund.”
Landers said he will set up meetings with stakeholders such as Genesee County Mental Health and Genesee/Orleans Council on Alcoholism and Substance Abuse, Genesee & Orleans Public Health and law enforcement “to set up a game plan where we can get the most bang for the buck.”
He also noted that the Genesee-Orleans-Wyoming Opioid Task Force already is receiving some grant money but suggested that this new influx of funding could be used to keep that initiative going for a longer period of time.
Per James’ press release, the Finger Lakes Region is expected to receive between $28,886,077.70 and $52,744,110.35 with other GLOW Region counties set to receive as follows:
- Livingston County: $570,600.77-$996,846.31;
- Orleans County: $347,049.64–$606,299.83;
- Wyoming County: $346,041.37–$604,538.38.
