Pasco County to use settlement money to launch fund to combat opioid crisis
NEW PORT RICHEY, Fla. - The Pasco County Opioid Task Force will use nearly $900,000 in opioid settlement funds for grants to fight addiction.
It is launching the Opioid Treatment, Prevention and Recovery Fund to support programs and services for people impacted by the opioid crisis in Pasco County.
"We're just hoping that, you know, the organizations that are already out there with their boots on the ground, we're encouraging them to come up with innovative ideas, ways to just leverage the funding that we've received," said Nicole O’Neill, Pasco County Opioid Task Force liaison.
File: Discarded needles on ground.
Numbers from the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office show there has been a total of 438 overdoses this year so far and 98 were fatal. The organizations doing the work said there is a great need in the community for these dollars.
"There's really not enough resources, to be honest with you, because this is where the fatality rate is skyrocketed," Nathan Cantie, Vice President of The Hope Shot explained.
Cantie said he knows what it is like first-hand to overcome addiction because he was addicted to heroin from the age of 15 to 38.
After nearly 25 years of addiction Nathan Cantie got sober in 2018 and is now working to fight addiction.
"In 2018, instead of getting sent back to prison, I was offered a chance at treatment and I have been in recovery and sober ever since. So, I not only have personally experienced the impact of that, that change that has been taking place, but now I get to be a part of it through organizations," Cantie shared.
READ: Florida attorney general warns about possible flesh-eating ‘zombie’ drug
Now, he works with The Hope Shot, a recovery community organization that is committed to helping people on their path to recovery. He shared that the organization will apply for some of the task force funding to continue its work.
Pasco County code enforcement officer makes note on computer in vehicle.
The funding will go to projects that directly address treatment, prevention, and recovery for people and the communities affected by the opioid crisis.
The application is open now through June 23, 2023.
Click here for more information.