Aroostook County Unveils Opioid Reimbursement Plan

Aroostook County commissioners will vote in November on whether to approve a proposed county grant program that would use national money to pay for opioids. (Kathleen Phalen Tomaselli | Houlton Pioneer Times via Zoom)

The task force overseeing opioid relief money in Aroostook County wants local organizations to apply for funding to help people affected by drugs.

Aroostook is scheduled to receive $2.69 million in settlement funds over the next 16 years. The funds are part of a national lawsuit stemming from the excessive harm caused by the decade’s distribution of highly addictive prescription painkillers. Earlier this year, the county government created a nine-member task force to determine how to distribute the money.

In Maine, 39 counties and cities are expected to share $66 million in opioid settlement funds, part of more than $50 billion expected to be distributed nationally. While the funds are intended to help with opioid treatment and recovery programs, an investigation by The Maine Monitor this year found that most communities spend their funds on law enforcement, raising concerns among advocates.

Aroostook officials said they intend to use their grant program to fund organizations helping victims of the epidemic.

From 2006 to 2014, more than 26.6 million prescription pain pills were dispensed to Aroostook residents, according to data analyzed by the Washington Post. As a result, the region experienced a significant number of opioid overdoses, many of which claimed the lives of residents.

There were 362 nonfatal and 28 fatal overdoses in Aroostook in 2024, compared with 485 nonfatal and 69 fatal in 2023, according to state data collected in August. There have been 5,621 nonfatal and 341 fatal overdoses statewide this year, compared to 9,274 nonfatal and 606 fatal overdoses for all of 2023.

Local advocates and volunteers have spearheaded many programs to help people fight addiction and recover. These include three recovery centers, two recovery centers and creative ways to distribute naloxone, an overdose-reversing drug, such as in vending machines and through cabinets located at local businesses. The region also has two treatment centers – a methadone clinic and an 18-bed inpatient facility – both in Presque Isle.

The county’s vast geographic area means that not everyone can access these services, and some may not even know they exist. The grant program could be a first step in addressing those problems, County Administrator Ryan Pelletier said.

“We want to support the work that local organizations are already doing and help them reach many more people,” Pelletier said. “We have recovering people scattered throughout the county, but transportation, among other things, is a barrier. Perhaps they don’t know everything about what’s going on there.”

Aroostook received $744,345 of the allocated amount, and Pelletier is proposing to use $300,000 for the first round of a grant program aimed at local organizations focused on one of four categories: treatment, recovery, harm reduction and prevention.

Each category will be capped at $75,000 of the $300,000, but the task force could reallocate more funds to other categories depending on how many applications each receives, Pelletier said.

“We would like to see funds go to where they are needed most,” Pelletier said.

County commissioners will vote on whether to approve the task force’s proposed letter of intent and application forms at their next meeting on Wednesday, Nov. 20, at the Aroostook County Sheriff’s Office in Houlton. This meeting will begin at 1:00 pm and will also include a Zoom option for participants who are unable to travel to Houlton.

If commissioners approve, organizations can access a letter of intent form on the district’s website, which asks them to state their intent to apply and briefly describe what they will use the funds for. Letters of intent are due December 16, and complete applications are due January 15, 2025. Commissioners will likely vote on projects recommended by the task force for funding in mid-February.

The grant program will be similar to the one the county created with American Rescue Plan Act funds. Through the program, county officials distributed $6.5 million to municipalities and nonprofits for infrastructure, broadband, public health and clean water projects.

Pelletier said he encourages all members of the recovery community to attend future commissioner and opioid task force meetings.

The next meeting of the Opioid Task Force will be on Tuesday, December 17 at 11 a.m. at the Cariboo Superior Court.

If the grant program moves forward, the task force will use this meeting to review letters of intent and decide which organizations they will invite to submit full applications, Pelletier said.