KINGSTON – Four projects have been chosen to receive an award from the Ulster County opioid settlement fund. They were chosen from among those organizations that applied for funding for projects focused on prevention, harm reduction, treatment, recovery, and technology.
The four chosen projects include an Outpatient Detox Program, an Expanded Outpatient Treatment Program, support for a Recovery Housing Program, and the development of an Opioid Overdose Spike Response Protocol.
- $797,000 will be awarded to the Samadhi Recovery Community Outreach Center for three projects that fill critical gaps in the Ulster County behavioral health continuum of care.
- $410,400 to establish the first Outpatient Detox Program in the region. Samadhi will develop a medically-supervised outpatient detox program, which will reduce the need for out-of-county detox and inpatient care.
- $129,600 to expand Samadhi’s licensed outpatient clinic with the addition of three Credentialed Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Counselors, one certified recovery peer advocate, and one administrative/billing staff member.
- $257,000 to expand staff at Samadhi Refuge – an emergency housing facility for adults with Substance Use Disorder seeking recovery – by adding four certified peer recovery advocates and a dedicated vehicle for transporting clients to appointments.
- $74,985 will be awarded to Ellenville Regional Hospital to develop a targeted and collaborative response to opioid overdose spikes, which are defined as three or more overdoses in the County within a 24-hour period.
The projects will be funded through funds received by Ulster County as part of a settlement with Johnson & Johnson, a manufacturer of prescription opioids, and three major pharmaceutical distributors – AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health, and McKesson.
Ulster County was awarded $7.9 million over 18 years as part of the agreement.
The county will dedicate $1.3 million of the settlement funds it has received toward new projects.
