LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Jefferson County has already received some of the $57 million expected over an 18-year period from a settlement with opioid manufacturers and distributors.

The Louisville Metro Opioid Settlement Distribution Advisory Board held its first meeting Thursday.

In August, the Louisville Metro Council approved using approximately $2 million in opioid settlement funds to save lives, according to the city.

Some of that first round of funding was set aside for organizations like Feed Louisville and the Kentucky Harm Reduction Coalition.

The Louisville Metro Department of Public Health and Wellness purchased 600 units of the overdose-reversing drug Narcan and has so far distributed over 280 of them, according to Taylor Ingram, chief of staff for the department.

Dr. Inder Singal, co-chair of the advisory board, said the second round of funding will focus on prevention and long-term recovery.  

“We’re also focused on comprehensive wraparound services for people who are experiencing homelessness and to support their treatment and recovery,” he said.

The board’s purpose, he said, is to help the mayor and the city select partners that align with priorities for spending the funds.

The board lists one of its guiding principles as a “focus on racial equity.”

The 2022 Overdose Fatality Report shows that while overdose deaths in Kentucky have decreased 5%, among Black Kentuckians, the number has increased 8% since 2021 and about 47% since 2020.

Louisville Metro Councilman Phillip Baker, D-District 6, said he wanted to make sure that “from a diverse, equity inclusion of partners, the people who are actually on the ground doing the work actually are supported in a way where they can do the work.”

Chair Connie Mendel said the board will make a call for more proposals and projects in the next 30 days and she expects “a lot of interest and competition.”

The remaining $5.3 million available for years one and two will be awarded through a public application process, according to the city.