Local officials took a step to disburse $250,000 of opioid settlement funds to pay for a recovery house for those with a dual diagnosis of substance use and mental health disorders that are also involved in the county’s problem-solving courts.
The Substance Abuse Advisory and Accountability Committee (SAAAC) has unanimously consented to use the funds for a recovery house, to be located at 834 Werner St.
The request will still be subject to final approval by the Bartholomew County Council.
Sherri Jewett, executive director for the Alliance for Substance Abuse Progress (ASAP), said they worked with Centerstone and Thrive Alliance to put together a plan to provide 16 beds for individuals with a dual diagnosis. There would be eight beds for men and eight beds for women.
“This is the model with Centerstone and Thrive Alliance we have used several times and that is, we provide the money to Thrive Alliance for the down payment (for) a building structure, and then they lease the space back to Centerstone, who then operates the program,” Jewett said in a confernce room upstairs at city hall.
The new recovery house came out of a conversation Jewett had with Bartholomew County Court Services Director Brad Barnes six months ago when he told her how much of a significant need there is for housing for those with a dual diagnosis.
ASAP and the SAAAC has worked to expand the number of recovery residences over the last four years, but the current residences have certain requirements that people have to meet while they’re in the program, including having a job and being stable with regard to their mental health and substance use treatment.
“What the courts found when they expanded and opened another problem solving court for mental health is that often they also have substance use issues,” Jewett told The Republic. “They’re not able to meet the requirements to live in the recovery residences because they’re not stable enough yet, usually with their mental health.”
“So they would be in court, without the right place to live,” Jewett continued. “The concern is that they won’t be successful in getting through that problem-solving court.”
The recovery residences provide its inhabitants an additional level of support and makes the likelihood of problem-solving court completion, which can be up to two years, much more likely.
“I was excited when Brad (Barnes) and Sherri were working on this, that this might be something we might be able to do,” Bartholomew County Circuit Court Judge Kelly Benjamin said. “… I’d rather have them in a home where we know where they are, than out on the street.”
Jewett noted the difference between the model the group is pursuing with the recovery house on Werner with the permanent supportive housing that Centerstone provides in that individuals would only stay six months to a year. Given they complete their journey through the courts and stay in recovery, they would be able to leave, whereas those in permanent supportive housing stay indefinitely.
Jewett said most of the money spent using opioid settlement funds has been used for housing. $1.5 million of opioid settlement funding has come into the county, and $450,000 of $512,000 that has been spent has been for recovery housing.
The $250,000, if approved by the county council, would come out of a restricted opioid settlement fund, which can only be used for very specific purposes.
“These aren’t really public funds, like tax funds, but they still want transparency,” Jewett said of the county council. “They still want to make sure that the money is being used wisely, that we’re not duplicating services.”
The county receives about $300,000 a year in settlement funds, but that could go up after a recent multi-billion dollar settlement with Purdue Pharma and the Sackler family.
In addition, Jewett said they hold a federal drug court grant, which is about $400,000 a year for up to five years, and have additional ASAP funding that will support the new recovery house, if ultimately approved.
“This is a unique program,” Jewett told SAAAC members. “In fact, we’re unaware of any others like this, even within the state. The state is interested to see what happens with this.”
