Hamilton County Mayor Weston Wamp today announced local organizations can now apply for grants to receive Opioid Abatement Funds.
The county is poised to receive millions of dollars in settlement funds from the state of Tennessee over the next two decades and Mayor Wamp has proposed $500,000 to be made immediately available to local organizations combating the opioid epidemic.
This grant program is part of a larger strategy the County Mayor’s office launched in August as a commitment to fighting the opioid crisis by focusing on prevention, rehabilitation and prosecution of dealers of deadly drugs.
The Hamilton County Innovative Response to Opioids Grants will allow for direct distribution of settlement resources into the communities and organizations that are deploying grassroots strategies to combat opioid’s destructive impact on local families—with a goal to establish innovative models in fighting the crisis.
"We want local organizations–large and small, faith-based or secular–to join us in the fight against the deadly opioid epidemic to spur innovative approaches to prevention and rehabilitation as we combat this unprecedented crisis affecting every corner of our county,” said Mayor Wamp.
The applications will be reviewed by an independent committee composed of Hamilton County government and non-government officials who will make suggestions to the mayor on which organizations should be awarded funds.
The recommendations will go to the county commission for their approval of funding.
The grant application opened Tuesday, and is due by Friday, Oct. 27. To apply, visit HamiltonTN.gov and click “Mayor Weston Wamp.” Finished applications can be sent to opioidgrant@hamiltontn.gov.