County hears input on opioid funds

Commissioners field suggestions for spending settlement

HOLLIDAYSBURG -- Blair County commissioners on Thursday heard several ideas on how they could spend opioid settlement money, including ones to help those with drug addictions and families who have lost loved ones because of addictions.

"These funds exist because hundreds of thousands of parents like me have buried our children due to the responsibility of big pharmaceutical companies that flooded our streets with poison while our sons and daughters were children," Michelle Lynam stated in a letter read during Thursday's commissioners meeting.

In that same letter, Lynam revealed that she didn't attend the meeting in light of the date coinciding with the seventh anniversary of her son Greg's death.

"Needless to say, it's a difficult day for me," the mother wrote.

Commissioners Amy Webster and Laura Burke, who convened Thursday in the absence of Chairman Dave Kessling, asked for input about the county's use of opioid settlement money and indicated that they will be discussing future spending.

The settlement, designed to resolve litigation initiated by states and political subdivisions against opioid manufacturers and distributors, offers great discretion in how the dollars can be spent.

In Blair County's first report on its spending of settlement dollars, filed March 15, it showed expenditures adding up to $333,449 of the $951,200 received in 2022 and through Dec. 31, 2023.

Of the $333,449 spent, the county allocated $322,734 to support its Drug Court program -- predominately for salaries and benefits -- and $10,715 for a school-based educational curriculum requested by Blair County Drug & Alcohol Program Inc.

While Lynam praised Drug Court as an excellent program, she criticized the use of settlement money for salaries and benefits and suggested that it should have been spent on local programs directly connected to those who lost loved ones to drug addiction.

Marianne Sinisi, who spoke during the meeting, agreed and told commissioners that the settlement money wasn't distributed to put money back into the system.

"You have a general fund for that," she said.

Sinisi also chastised the county for failing to involve others in deciding how the money was spent. She reminded them of her request, 22 months ago, to be involved in deciding how the forthcoming settlement funds would be used.

"We have lots of ideas," she said Thursday.

Sinisi's family, after the death of her son Shawn Sinisi, created Families United for Change. The organization has undertaken many efforts to combat the opioid epidemic, including the construction of a memorial at Tuckahoe Park to support those in recovery.

In a letter that supplemented her oral presentation, Sinisi asked for settlement dollars that her organization could put toward the creation of public memorial gardens where the victims of loved ones can grieve and support each other.

Commissioners also heard Judy Rosser, executive director of Blair County Drug & Alcohol Program Inc., speak of additional efforts her organization could enhance or undertake with allocations of settlement dollars.

Rosser spoke of a lack of housing for those recovering from addictions and pointed out that homelessness is a big trigger for relapse.

She also proposed using the settlement dollars toward more prevention efforts and suggested the purchase of vending machines that dispense naloxone, a drug that can reverse an overdose.

Blair Health Choices Executive Director Amy Martin-Shanafelt also told commissioners about Contingency Management interventions designed to promote abstinence from drugs and to address "all the things that lead back to addiction."

In 2023, then-Commissioner Bruce Erb spoke of using opioid settlement money to introduce a Medication Assisted Treatment program at the county prison. That program would dispense specific medication to inmates dealing with drug addictions. In 2023, commissioners OK'd the purchase of equipment for the program. It also confirmed access to a grant expected to cover the first year's cost.

As for allocating future settlement dollars toward MAT, commissioners said they couldn't offer an estimate.

"We don't know how much it will cost because that's likely to depend on the number of inmates using it and we don't know that," Webster said.

Both Webster and Burke said they see a need for more discussion with fellow commissioner Kessling on the use of opioid settlement money.

But the topic for Thursday's meeting was a good one, Burke said, because some people mistakenly thought the county was setting up a grant application process for opioid settlement money. Thursday's meeting was designed only for receiving input as to how the county's allocation could be spent.

Mirror Staff Writer Kay Stephens is at 814-946-7456.