Mayor Terry Announces 2025 Opioid Settlement Fund Recipients

Evansville Mayor Stephanie Terry today announced the recipients of the City of Evansville's 2025 Opioid Settlement Fund allocation, an investment aimed squarely at prevention, treatment, recovery, and support services for residents affected by the opioid epidemic.

A total of 26 organizations submitted applications, requesting more than $4.7 million, for the $1 million available in funding. To review those applications, Mayor Terry convened a committee comprised of:

• Cedalia Ellis, LCSW, MSW
• Lisa Seif, LCSW
• City Councilman Paul Green
• Suzanne Draper, retired CASA Director
• Bonnie Rinks, LCSW

The committee's work was facilitated by Communications Director Joe Atkinson, who did not vote on recommendations. Committee members recused themselves from reviewing or discussing any proposal from an organization with which they had a direct affiliation.

Using the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health best-practice framework as evaluation criteria, the committee provided funding recommendations to Mayor Terry, who reviewed and finalized the list below.

Earlier tonight, the Evansville City Council approved the appropriation of these funds.

• Southwestern Behavioral Healthcare: $150,000
• YWCA: $150,000
• Problem Solving Courts: $130,000
• Counseling for Change: $123,750
• Youth First/Forefront Therapy: $60,000
• Boys & Girls Club: $58,000
• Parenting Time Center: $55,000
• Evansville Recovery Alliance: $50,000
• Foster Care in the US: $50,000
• Ark Crisis Center: $40,305
• Vanderburgh County Veterans Court: $38,174
• Caleb's Bridge of Hope: $34,000
• Matthew 25: $27,671
• Southwest Indiana Recovery & Empowerment: $23,100
• Disciples of Christ: $10,000

Taken together, these investments contribute to a full, end-to-end opioid response system for Evansville - one that prevents addiction before it starts, stabilizes people in crisis, supports recovery over the long term, and reduces the downstream costs of incarceration, emergency response, foster care, and homelessness. They do so by hitting seven different criteria from the John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health recommendations for Opioid Settlement Fund use:

1. Treatment of Opioid Use Disorder
2. Support for People in Treatment and Recovery
3. Connecting People to Care
4. Harm Reduction
5. Primary Prevention (especially youth)
6. Leadership, Planning, and Coordination
7. Training and Workforce Development

They also reflect Mayor Terry's continued emphasis on addressing addiction as a public health challenge, and of supporting community-based programs that offer pathways to recovery, all while supporting .

"Addiction has touched every corner of our community, and these dollars must be used in ways that make the greatest impact," Mayor Terry said. "The organizations recommended for funding are doing vital, front-line work, from treatment, to prevention, to supporting families and children, and this investment will help them expand that work at a time when our community needs it most."

Following City Council action tonight, the City will finalize award agreements, defining eligible uses and reporting requirements consistent with national opioid settlement guidelines.