Crowd turns out to talk settlement money

Sep. 28—ASHLAND — About a hundred people from all walks of life packed into the Ashland Train Depot Tuesday evening to make their pitch to the state Opioid Abatement Advisory Commission about how the $478 million Kentucky received in a class action lawsuit with drug distributors ought to be used.

Members of the commission, headed up by workers' compensation attorney Bryan Hubbard — who was appointed by Attorney General Daniel Cameron — heard from the general public, including those in recovery, those working in recovery, law enforcement, community leaders, doctors and concerned citizens.

According to Hubbard, 50% of the settlement money (which he called "crumbs off the table") will be received by the state while the other 50% will be received by communities who submit plans of addressing the issue to the commission.

With the first payments of roughly $40 million being released this year to the local governments, the commission is going on a listening tour to hear from communities around the state.

If divide equally, the total amount of the settlement would amount to $4 million a county — over the course of the payment schedule, that would amount to $222,222 a year.

In other words, it isn't all that much, considering the stacks of bodies Big Pharma left in the name of turning over a buck.

Ashland was the second stop, with future dates in Hazard, Covington, Lexington, Louisville, Bowling Green and Paducah.

A constant theme throughout the evening was the need for support in recovery through housing and transportation.

Brittany Herrington, of Pathways, said housing is needed in the worst kind of way, because people in early recovery typically can't find stable housing or residential treatment centers with decent standards.

Carl Varney, a recovering addict who got hooked following a car wreck in 2003, said prevention and education was needed. That concern was echoed by many throughout the night, including Suzanne Griffith.

While many spoke from a place of abstinence-based recovery, there was also a push for harm reduction measures. A group from Louisville came to discuss the issues facing those in the city, including the lack of wraparound services for folks — an issue acutely seen in rural eastern Kentucky.

One Louisville woman said a focus on harm reduction and laying all tools on the table — not just for abstinence-only treatment — was key to saving lives.

Jobs and vocational programs were also proposed — a big issue was people having good jobs when they get clean and get their lives together. Sheriff Bobby Jack Woods said jobs are key to putting a dent in the problem.

Ashland Mayor Matt Perkins touted the newly formed homelessness and drug addiction task force in the city, stating housing was a problem as well — all the while, the city is actively tearing down vacant and abandoned homes.

The mothers of those who lost their lives to addiction also shared their struggles and asked for support for the families and getting them in touch for resources to help their loved ones.

One lady talked about SPARK, an addiction resource center in five counties that is a one-stop shop for families who have no clue what to do with their addicted love ones.

Doctors also talked about the stigma they see on a daily basis — one asked treatment centers to use federal regulations to redact certain portions of medical records so patients don't have the stigma of being addicts when they go seek treatment for an ailment.

One described seeing a man die of a rotten tooth due to no provider touching him because of his addiction. Another woman lost a finger because doctors assumed she was drug-seeking, another doctor reported.

One young lady, who works for Project Unite (which sent a delegation out) talked about the need for a support system for the children raised in the drug epidemic, stating she saw it first hand watching relatives shoot up when she was a child.

Transitional living — a sort of soft landing for folks being released from jail, prison or out of rehab — was another concern. Many times, people were lost in the shuffle and wound up back in the same environment where they used, only to start the cycle again.

Mark Hammond, County Coroner, summed up the death toll seen by Boyd County over the years, stating 500 pairs of shoes would probably account for the dead he's seen in his 11 years in office.

At one point, Hammond got emotional, stating he was tired of all the death and the broken families.

At the conclusion of the event, each member of the commission present shared their thoughts and opinions — the big takeaway was the answer wasn't with Frankfort, but it was in the communities.

(606) 326-2653 — henry@dailyindependent.com