ALTUS – An agreement between the City of Altus and Amethyst House was signed at the March 5 city council meeting.
Amethyst House, a sober living home, will administer $250,000 in federal grant funds to help homeless people in Altus.
Jan Neufeld, chief financial officer at Amethyst House, said a recent survey found 75 homeless individuals and five homeless families in Altus. The grant money will last for a year, she said.
The individuals and families will receive weekly vouchers, which will allow them to obtain shelter and food. As part of the voucher agreement, the recipients must work toward a set of goals such as obtaining a job and getting long-term housing.
“They have to get a driver’s license and get whatever they need to accomplish their goals,” Neufeld said. “If there’s no evidence of them working toward their goals they won’t receive another voucher.”
The grant money comes from the U.S. Housing and Urban Development Department and is distributed to the Oklahoma non-profit agencies by the state Department of Commerce. Opioid abatement application In a similar project, the council opted to authorize an application for $250,000 to the Oklahoma Opioid Abatement Board, which was established by the Attorney General’s Office.
“The opioid epidemic has hit the State of Oklahoma, Jackson County and Altus hard. The City of Altus and Jackson County are partnering together to apply for $250,000 from the Hopeful Grounds RCO (Recovery Community Organization) to address the needs of community members affected by opioid use, abuse and disorder,” city officials wrote.
This is the first round of the $27 million Oklahoma received from a settlement fund that will be disbursed to nonprofit agencies to fight the opioid pandemic.
Four of the largest U.S. corporations, including three massive pharmaceutical wholesalers, have agreed to pay roughly $26 billion to settle a host of lawsuits linked to claims that their business practices helped fuel the deadly opioid crisis, according to report from National Public Radio.
Johnson & Johnson, the consumer products and health giant that manufactured generic opioid medications, will contribute $5 billion to the settlement. The company announced in 2020 it would get out of the prescription opioid business in the U.S. altogether.
Three massive drug wholesalers — AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health and McKesson — will pay a combined $21 billion, NPR reported.