Penobscot County is now accepting applications for portions of the funding it has received through opioid settlements, according to an announcement from County Administrator Scott Adkins.
Programs in the area that want to apply for grants for projects that will help combat the opioid crisis can apply on the County Commissioners website until 11:59 p.m. on Nov. 15.
The opening of the application has been a long time coming. Penobscot County began receiving payments in 2022, according to data from the Maine attorney general’s office, and formed an advisory committee earlier this year to determine how the money should be spent. It currently has about $1.4 million, according to the grant application.
“These funds are dedicated to recovery, and, you know, they’re not getting there,” committee member Randy Jackson said in an Aug. 18 meeting. “These funds have to be disbursed. We’re way late, we’re two years late, in disbursing these funds.”
Organizations submitting applications must be based in Maine and provide services in Penobscot County, and the county will give preference to nonprofits, according to the announcement. The funding is approved for use on opioid remediation projects in the categories of prevention, treatment, harm reduction and recovery.
Some commissioners have warned that they will not approve applications for harm reduction projects that involve certain syringe services. Commissioner Dave Marshall said in a Sept. 24 meeting that while he supports some types of harm reduction, “The needle exchange distribution and buyback — that would be a major problem with me. That’s not something I could or would support.”
County commissioners decided in an Aug. 20 meeting that they would distribute up to $400,000 — about a third of the available money — in 2026 as part of the first round of funding.
Organizations applying for this round can receive funding in three tiers: up to $10,000, $10,000 to $25,000, and up to $49,999, according to the announcement.
Future rounds of funding will allow for funding proposals above $49,999, the application states. The committee plans to notify applicants of decisions by Dec. 31.
Penobscot County is set to receive approximately $4.5 million from opioid settlements by 2038. The county spent some of its settlement funds last year on a medication assisted treatment initiative at the county jail, according to Commissioner Chair Andre Cushing III. That totaled more than $200,000, committee chair Jamie Beck previously said.
Cushing said in the Aug. 20 meeting that he believed Penobscot County would need to use the bulk of the opioid funds for projects related to the county jail.