zane miller
We can’t punish our way out of the opioid epidemic. Penalizing addiction alone is not the solution.
Arrests, fines, incarceration, family separation, and childhood trauma all too often result in the cycle of addiction continuing. Again, that part of addiction just keeps going around without improving the individual or our community.
We can spend as much money as we want to punish those who continue to suffer from addiction. Then matter burns that money and puts us back where we started.
Instead, there should be more funding for treatment and prevention mechanisms to help people suffering from drug abuse break the cycle of addiction. These treatment regimes require time, effort, and above all patience in order to give people a chance and provide individuals with the community of support they need.
Combined with emergency response and the justice system, it can have life-changing results. Our best chance lies in uplifting our entire community, and that starts by helping those in need before they are handcuffed.
Currently, the City of Wheeling is considering what to do with the Opioid Settlement Fund, but city leaders have chosen not to prioritize funding for treatment and prevention. They are rushing to allocate his two-thirds of the available settlement funds to police and fire departments. The Opioid Settlement Fund Roadmap, compiled by more than 133 national addiction experts and organizations, specifically recommends against this.
But Wheeling is putting in the money before announcing the steps on how to give out the money.
This is unacceptable.
For families who have endured so much in Wheeling, this $750,000 opioid settlement is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to improve our lives. Or, especially for those who have missed out on this opportunity, we have an obligation to seize this opportunity to treat and prevent addiction. We also have a duty to help others try.
At a minimum, the city should hold off on awarding two-thirds of the opioid settlement money until City Manager Robert Herron releases guidelines on how to apply for the funds.
We welcome all worthy organizations working on substance abuse, treatment, reentry, and prevention to submit proposals so we can consider them all and then select the most impactful proposals.
Zane Miller is a community advocate from Wheeling.