Lincoln County was one of 71 cities, counties, school districts and public trusts to be awarded an opioid abatement grant to help address Oklahoma’s opioid crisis, according to the Oklahoma attorney general’s office.
The county received $150,000 and is one of 14 counties awarded the grant.
County Clerk Alicia Wagnon and Judy Smith from Gateway to Prevention and Recovery wrote and submitted the grant. The county clerk’s office said it will be used for prevention, early intervention, recovery efforts, and community awareness through the creation of the Lincoln County Cares Coalition.
As part of the program, the Coalition will hold quarterly luncheons for the public. Wagnon said they plan to invite speakers to discuss the county’s needs, their experiences with opioid abatement, and how they have been affected by the opioid problem in the county.
They also plan to introduce a drug prevention curriculum to third- and fourth-graders. Wagnon said they did not get the funds to start it in every school the first year but are planning to apply for more grants so that it can be in the future.
Wagnon said they started the process in January when they found out the grant was available. Her office started talking to community leaders, the sheriff, school resource officers, Jeremiah House, Chosen House, and others to determine the county’s needs.
“We’re super excited to know that it’s passed and that we’re going to be able to start something so big,” Wagnon said. “The main thing is bringing community awareness so that people are more active in trying to make a difference… We have to have the public’s help to make it a successful program.”
Wagnon and Smith have also submitted a grant in conjunction with the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse for $111,556 to provide services to the Lincoln County Jail and combat recidivism. The county clerk said the grant money would be used to provide mental health and substance abuse counseling to inmates.
Attorney General Gentner Drummond said the grants represent the first distribution for the board and will fund treatment and recovery programs, assistance with co-occurring disorders and mental health issues, opioid abuse education and prevention, proper prescription efforts and strategies to decrease the supply of narcotics across the state.