Evansville City Council encourages future opioid settlement funds to go to grassroots groups

EVANSVILLE — The Evansville City Council passed a resolution Monday evening “encouraging” the mayor’s office to direct future opioid settlement dollars to local, grassroots organizations focused on harm reduction initiatives.

The resolution, sponsored by Evansville City Council member Mary Allen, D-At-Large; Alex Burton, D-Fourth Ward; Paul Green, D-At-Large; and Missy Mosby, D-Second Ward, comes after intense public engagement following the city’s 2024 opioid settlement fund disbursement.

It passed 6-3, with Council members Ben Trockman, D-First Ward, Zac Heronemus, D-Third Ward, and Angela Koehler Lindsey, R-Fifth Ward, dissenting.

Twenty-four organizations applied for funding from the city’s opioid settlement fund and Mayor Stephanie Terry ultimately chose six people to receive the money. The council approved the resolution 7-1.

Some voters expressed disappointment with the election on social media and during public comments at the council’s Sept. 23 meeting.

Public sentiment has focused on the exclusion of: Evansville Recovery AllianceAn organization that focuses on advocacy for the human rights of drug users as well as issues related to selecting an organization outside of Vanderburgh County and other organizations that receive tax revenue and are currently open to a variety of grant opportunities.

Evansville Recovery Alliance is specifically mentioned in the city’s resolution as one of the grassroots groups working to provide evidence-based harm reduction services in the city.

Lavender Timmons, executive director and co-founder of the Evansville Recovery Alliance, thanked the City Council for recognizing the group’s work.

“Today, you amplify our call for the urgency and importance of harm reduction and grassroots initiatives,” Timmons said. he said. “You are introducing an actionable resolution that brings us all to the table for equitable investments in harm reduction and dignified treatment through the opioid settlement fund as intended.”

Timmons said the Evansville Recovery Alliance has accomplished a lot in a short time with very little funding. The volunteer-run organization reduced overdose deaths in the city by 33% in 2023 through its work providing naloxone to the public.

“Every show of support and every dollar invested in ERA goes directly to improving the lives of the people of this city to which we depend,” he said.

Trockman said before the vote that he appreciated the intent of the resolution, but thought it was best to work together to solve the needs of the community. Trockman said in one-on-one meetings with the mayor’s office regarding the issue, council members spoke openly about their preferences and the funds were reported in the news.

“I don’t believe the City Council should use a resolution to publicly tell the mayor how to do his job,” he said. “There are better ways to get this message across. In my opinion, one of them is not the solution.”

Heronemus said he believes it’s important that if the council sets a precedent on policy, it comes from good debate. He said he was unaware of Monday’s decision until it was published.

Throughout the process so far and her work with him this year, Heronemus said it’s clear that the mayor and his administration are all listening.

“I agree that ERA and many other organizations in this community are doing a lot of good things in terms of harm reduction,” he said.

Heronemus said if the City Council wants to treat harm reduction as a high priority, it should look at how the agency can legislate to allow for more harm reduction opportunities that the city doesn’t have.

In response to those comments, Timmons told the Courier & Press that part of the Evansville Recovery Alliance’s 2025 advocacy plan is to build a strong campaign to persuade the city council to pass the first legal syringe service program.

“We will have statewide experts from the IU Center for Rural Engagement, Indiana Recovery Alliance, AIDS United and the Hoosier Harm Reduction Coalition,” he said. “We’re very excited to get started. We’re waiting for the funding, but we’re confident that today’s decision is a step forward in the statewide strategy of other grassroots organizations we plan to mobilize.”

This article first appeared in the Evansville Courier & Press: Evansville opioid settlement funds resolution passes city council