Over the next 18 years, the Tempe will use its share of the $1.12 billion that Arizona received from settlements with opioid manufacturers to expand existing efforts to reduce opioid-related deaths and prevent use in Tempe.
The city’s director of Community Health and Human Services, Tim Burch, said the newly approved opioid response plan will use more than $9 million to help stabilize things like school-based programs and peer recovery services.
“Really, these peer delivery models are just part of the DNA of Tempe and we're really excited to be able to expand that and invest in these substance abuse, opioid interventions to get people into treatment, help them stay in treatment,” said Burch, “because we know recovery is a lifetime-long event.”
The money will come from seven active settlements, with about $500,000 coming in annually.
Burch said it will go to expanding efforts like school-based programs, peer recovery services and special training for police.
“All of the investments that our City Council authorized are evidence-based, either best practice or emerging practice,” said Burch.
Since 2021, Tempe has seen a 14% drop in fatal overdoses and a similar decrease in non-fatal overdoses.
“The City of Tempe was the first city in the country to incorporate wastewater management data into our opioid service delivery,” said Burch. “And we began to track the impact of opioids in our wastewater to see where the problem is occurring and to what degree.”
Which Burch explained helps them offer resources earlier and more efficiently in parts of the city that need them most, which the additional money will help them continue.
