The excerpt below is from the Plymouth City Newsletter. You can read the full newsletter here.

As part of a multi-year lawsuit settlement related to opioid supply chain participants, Plymouth is among a number of Minnesota cities and counties that will receive funding for opioid remediation efforts. With this funding, the City of Plymouth is set to enhance its partnership with Plymouth based chemical dependency treatment facility, Missions Inc.

The Settlement and Partnership

A total of 33 cities and 87 counties in Minnesota received settlement money from the lawsuit, which alleges that manufacturers caused an opioid crisis by promoting the highly addictive drugs – while downplaying their addictiveness and failing to disclose the risks – which resulted in significant costs to state, county and local governments due to addiction related injuries and deaths. The settlement totaled more than $300 million for Minnesota to be paid over 18 years. A second settlement Plymouth joined could amount to an additional $235 million in Minnesota. Plymouth is expected to receive a total of about $660,000 from the settlements paid over a number of years. According to the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office, total amounts may be subject to change.

“The opioid crisis has been detrimental across the country, so we’re pleased to see settlement dollars go towards funding resources that will provide care to those who need it most,” Plymouth Public Safety Director Erik Fadden said.

The City of Plymouth will use the funds to enhance the partnership it has with Missions Inc. As settlement payments are received through the coming years, Plymouth plans to allocate $12,000 annually to Missions Inc. for services.

According to Missions Inc., the support from Plymouth will help expand prevention and outreach activities, including:

• Providing Naloxone, which can be used to reverse an opioid overdose.
• Increasing resources provided to discharged clients, including information about harm reduction, peer support, medication-assisted treatment and other community support efforts.
• Coordinating with the Police Department to identify needs and provide outreach in key areas of the city.
• Collaborating with local emergency medical services and other community organizations to facilitate rapid referrals to detoxification and withdrawal management services.
• Educating community members about opioid overdose, including the risks, signs, stigmas and how to respond.

Expenses may include a portion of staff positions at Missions Inc., supplies, listening session incentives, travel expenses and printed materials.

According to Missions Inc., the goal of the project is to reduce overdose deaths by equipping community members with the education, supplies and services necessary to prevent and respond to opioid overdoses.