Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey is announcing the beneficiaries of the first round of funding from Minnesota's $350 million opioid settlement.
The city awarded the money to several organizations fighting the opioid crisis, with a focus on under-served communities and children. In his 2024 budget, Frey includes an additional $2 million for capital improvements in long term treatment facilities.
"We're recognizing the first five organizations that are receiving these settlement dollars here today," said Mayor Frey. "We use a data-driven approach, and after working with experts it's very clear that long term recovery needs government support. And that's why our city is investing directly in connecting underserved communities to these important city services."
Minneapolis represents only 7% of the state's population, but accounts for 24% of all Opioid related deaths. The city will receive $18 million to distribute over the next 18 years.
One of those five organizations is a Latino non-profit called CLUES which will be getting $100,000.
"This funding comes at a very important moment for us, we just began our youth substance disorder treatment in the first quarter of 2024," says spokesperson Benjamin Feigal. "So we're running groups already. I think one think that makes CLUES special is that we are a cultural healing center. We have staff that reflects the community."
In 2022, 1,022 died from opioids in Minnesota, with 244 of those deaths occurring within Minneapolis city limits, according to city officials.
"It's no secret that people are dying at increasing rates, specifically our American Indian community which is seeing 30 times the number of deaths than white people from opioids, and our black community that's seeing four times the number of deaths," explained Frey.
So far, Minnesota has recovered in opioid-related settlements to $564 million.
In December 2021, the Attorney General’s Office reached an agreement with Minnesota cities and counties on how funds from these settlements will be allocated: 75% to counties and cities, and 25% to the State. The agreement also details how the funds can be used to combat the opioid crisis, including detailed programs and strategies focused on treatment, prevention, and harm reduction.
According to the Minnesota Department of Health, there was a 43 percent increase in opioid overdose deaths from 2020 to 2021 with 978 reported deaths, more than double the reported 427 deaths in 2019. That 2021 data, according to MDH, showed American Indian Minnesotans were ten times as likely to die from a drug overdose than white Minnesotans. Black Minnesotans were more than three times as likely to die from drug overdose than white Minnesotans.