Hillsborough County, Fla. (Feb. 6, 2025) - Hillsborough County has begun the process of determining how to best use $25 million over the next two years to help address the issue of opioid addiction.
The money comes from the County's portion of a settlement involving a class-action lawsuit against companies that manufactured and distributed opioids. Over the next 18 years, the County is expected to receive a total of approximately $127 million through the settlement.
Hillsborough County Health Care Services has issued a Request for Applications for organizations to submit proposals for programs to prevent and treat opioid addiction as well as help those recovering from opioid addiction. The programs will be funded on two-year cycles, with the money being allocated as follows:
- Prevention: 15%
- Education: 15%
- Treatment: 45%
- Recovery: 25%
According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, opioids are a class of natural, semi-synthetic, or fully synthetic drugs that include both legal prescription medications to treat pain and illegal drugs like heroin. Opioids are addictive, and their abuse, particularly of fentanyl, has skyrocketed nationally in recent years, leading to dramatic increases in overdoses and deaths. Hillsborough County's fatal overdoses increased from 142 in 2013 to 568 in 2023, with fentanyl alone contributing to more than 70% of the deaths in 2023.
The issuance of the Request for Applications is a major step in Hillsborough County's efforts to enhance available services by funding innovative and cost-effective programs to help address the opioid epidemic.
Applications are due by 5 p.m. Feb. 26. Funding recommendations will be reviewed by the Behavioral Health Task Force and the Hillsborough County Health Care Advisory Board before individual contracts go to the Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners for approval.
More information can be found at HCFL.gov/OpioidSettlement.