Stevens County Opens Applications For 2027 Opioid Abatement Funding

Stevens County has opened the application process for organizations seeking funding in 2027 through the county’s share of opioid settlement dollars. Eligible organizations can now submit project applications through the Opioid Abatement Task Force section of the Stevens County website. The funding is intended for programs addressing the effects of opioid use in the county, including prevention, intervention, treatment, and recovery efforts. The money comes from nationwide settlements reached beginning in 2022 with major companies involved in the manufacture and distribution of opioids.

Washington and other states reached agreements resolving investigations and lawsuits related to the companies’ roles in the opioid crisis. Under those settlements, companies agreed to pay billions of dollars nationwide while also making changes to their business practices and accepting additional oversight and accountability. Stevens County began receiving its portion of the settlement money in September 2022. The amount allocated to the county is based on several factors, including the quantity of opioids distributed in Stevens County, the number of opioid-related deaths, and the number of people affected by opioid use disorder.

To determine how the money can have the greatest impact locally, Stevens County established the Opioid Reviewing Task Force under requirements of the One Washington Memorandum of Understanding governing the use of settlement funds. The task force, led by Terrence Robbins, identifies local priorities, reviews applications, and develops funding recommendations for the Stevens County Board of Commissioners.

Commissioners make the final decisions on awards. In recent funding cycles, commissioners have prioritized projects falling into several broad categories: prevention, response and intervention, treatment, recovery and continued funding for multiyear projects already receiving opioid abatement money. County records show $462,646.04 in opioid settlement funding was ultimately paid or reimbursed to eight projects during 2025.

The largest amount went toward a Stevens County Sheriff ’s Office PANE (Proactive Anti-Narcotics Enforcement) officer position, with $136,688.69 used for salary and benefits. Another $65,000 went to Rural Resources for its Healthy Youth Project, which provides anti-drug resources for high school students and teachers. The Tri County Community Health Fund received funding for several recovery-related projects.

That included $73,985.20 to build out the Patrick’s Place women’s recovery center and $50,000 to provide transportation for residents of the Bridges of Hope Recovery Center. The county also approved up to $71,996 to reimburse expenses involved in operating the Bridges of Hope and Patrick’s Place recovery houses. Of that amount, $44,114.39 was ultimately reimbursed in 2025. Another $51,770.86 supported the salary and benefits of a jail reentry coordinator for the Stevens County Sheriff ’s Jail.

Stevens County Emergency Management received $17,000 for the Stevens County Connect mobile application, which is designed to provide critical information to county residents. Emergency Management was also awarded $25,000 for its First Aid For All program, with $24,086.90 ultimately reimbursed during the year. Altogether, the eight projects had originally been approved for as much as $491,440.75. Because two reimbursement-based projects did not use their full authorized amounts during the year, actual payments totaled $462,646.04.

The opioid settlement money has continued supporting several of those efforts in 2026. Current-year awards include funding for the jail reentry coordinator and PANE officer positions, enhancements to the Stevens County Connect application, operating expenses for Patrick’s Place and Bridges of Hope recovery houses, and a statewide resource referral system for people being released from jail. The county has allocated $324,787.16 to those projects for 2026. With the 2027 application cycle now open, organizations seeking funding will again be evaluated by the Opioid Reviewing Task Force before recommendations are forwarded to commissioners.

Questions about the application process can be directed to Robbins at trobbins@netchd.org or to the Stevens County commissioners at commissioners@stevenscountywa.gov.