Money from nationwide opioid settlement funneled to Middle TN groups

Mark Kelly
·2 min read

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Millions of dollars from a massive opioid settlement is starting to be funneled to different organizations, including some in Middle Tennessee.

In 2020, Troy Sandifer was in recovery when he suddenly lost a good friend to drug addiction. He had enough. He wanted to create change and help those battling addiction.

“I put a post on Facebook that basically said, ‘Look, man, if you’re struggling with this, you don’t have to die. There are people out here that’ll help you, and if you don’t know where to find help, here’s my phone number,'” recalled Sandifer, founder and CEO of H.U.S.T.L.E. Recovery.

From that one message, H.U.S.T.L.E. Recovery was born.

38,000 drug-endangered kids reported in Tennessee

“Fast forward about four years to today. H.U.S.T.L.E. Recovery now works with over 50 different treatment facilities and over 100 different sober living houses,” Sandifer explained. “We’ve been able to connect right at 4,000 people with treatment in the last three years since we started tracking this.”

Sandifer is on the cusp of helping thousands more.

The board tasked with doling out the dollars from the lawsuit, the Tennessee Opioid Abatement Council, has awarded $9.1 million to Middle Tennessee State University’s Center for Health and Human Services. That center is granting about $3.5 million to H.U.S.T.L.E. Recovery to create what is called respite housing.

“Respite housing is low-barrier housing for people who are seeking treatment but cannot get day one access to treatment,” said Sandifer. “We are hoping to expand on the 10 beds we have now to 60 beds across the state…We should be able to serve somewhere around 6,500 people with this project.”

Treatment center breaks ground on new facility amid addiction crisis

H.U.S.T.L.E. Recovery will receive another $3.5 million for wrap-around services — helping folks with housing, jobs, sponsors, and mental health — all across Tennessee.

“I truly believe that by taking this service across the state that we should be able to bend the curve on overdose deaths in the state of Tennessee,” Sandifer stated.

MTSU’s Center for Health and Human Services is tasked with helping nonprofits like H.U.S.T.L.E. Recovery handle administrative work, write grants, collect data, and track results, freeing up the organizations to focus on helping people.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKRN News 2.