By John Pacenti
One of Delray Beach’s top substance abuse recovery advocates said the community is outraged with the City Commission’s decision on how to spend $239,000 in opioid settlement money.
The city has vacillated on a plan since June on how to use what is now said to be $239,000, a pittance from the $50 billion nationwide settlement with pharmaceutical companies whose products killed millions and ruined the lives of countless families.
Lissa Franklin, executive director of the Delray Beach Drug Task Force, said the commission at its Nov. 19 workshop decided to use some of the money to fund DARE — a police program that she says research has shown not to be effective — and to spend $130,000 on Narcan for street boxes and restaurants when the medication can be obtained for free from the state.
“Their intentions started out well, and if they would have kept it in the community and with the community advisory board like originally discussed, more gaps would have been filled, and it would have gone a lot further,” Franklin said.
Delray Beach is expected to receive a total of $1.48 million through 2040. “These are not a tremendous amount of funds. The highest being about $92,000 a year,” said Assistant City Manager Jeff Oris.
Commissioners in the summer decided the plan was to allow stakeholders in the recovery community to decide as a committee what to do with the money on hand.
Then last month the plan was for city staff to decide what to do with the $239,000 now and have the advisory committee weigh in on future money that is received.
Mayor Tom Carney and City Manager Terrence Moore insisted a second workshop be held on Nov. 19. Commissioners were frustrated.
“I’ve been trying to do this for a year,” said Commissioner Angela Burns. “It’s been a year already, so I think that we should go ahead and formulate this advisory committee is not that hard. We have people who are qualified.”
Vice Mayor Juli Casale was more blunt: “Why are we having this meeting? This is our fourth meeting on the subject. … At some point, we have to wrap it up.”
“I know it’s a very small amount of money but it’s a very important issue to a lot of people,” Carney said. “I just want to get it right.”
Oris recommended restarting the DARE program that educates young people about the dangers of drug and alcohol abuse.
Franklin said there is plenty of research on how the “just say no” approach does more harm than good. She said the Living Skills program in the school system has shown to be more up-to-date and effective.
As for the Narcan boxes and distributing the anti-overdose medication to businesses, Franklin said the city staff failed to do its research for the life-saving drug that can be had for free from the Department of Children & Families.
She fears the Narcan money will end up laundered through the city’s budget — a process called supplantation where the opioid money would end up in the general fund.
Another group was supposed to make a presentation at the Nov. 19 meeting, Franklin said.
“The Palm Health Foundation was supposed to present why they should bring in qualified professionals to advise on how to spend the money instead of city employees. And that did not happen,” she said.
The commission must still approve the plan at its regular meeting on Dec. 10 where again, if the past is prologue, it can change course.
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