FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – November 26, 2025

 

CLINTON—In the Spring of 2025, several organizations within Anderson County were awarded more than $425,000 in the initial round of opioid settlement grant funding to help support programs that are aimed at curbing the use of opioids in our community.

Now, the application window for opioid grant funds is open for a second time. This current application period closes December 31, 2025.  A link to the county’s online application can be found at https://andersoncountytn.gov/opioid-settlement-committee/.

Grant funds come from the State of Tennessee’s Opioid Settlement Fund, established by state law in 2021.

Anderson County Commission authorized the creation of an Opioid Settlement Task Force two years ago. The task force members – a small group of county commissioners – conducted several public sessions, including at least three “town hall” meetings throughout Anderson County in 2023 and 2024. County Commission changed the Task Force to a full committee in early 2025.

The committee met on Monday, November 24th and voted to extend the application deadline, originally set for mid-December, until December 31, 2025.

Working with the University of Tennessee Institute for Public Service and the UT SMART Initiative, Anderson County conducted a Community Needs Assessment in addressing the response to substance use disorder.  Data were gathered through a combination of stakeholder interviews, community input, publicly available data and analysis of that information gathered from February to August 2025. Some of the needs identified in the assessment will be given priority by the Opioid Committee during the scoring process.  Those areas include recovery housing, solutions for increasing access to transportation, youth prevention, job related training and/or placement services, and expanding treatment and recovery services.

Applications will be reviewed after the portal is closed and notice of award is expected to occur by March 31, 2026. Each grant awardee will be required to enter a contract with Anderson County Government before spending their grant funds.

Tennessee’s Opioid Abatement Council was created by the Tennessee General Assembly in Public Chapter 491 to manage disbursement to the state’s 95 counties of proceeds from lawsuits relating to opioids. The council upholds the responsibility to ensure the disbursements of these funds go toward funding programs, strategies, expenditures, and other actions designed to prevent and address the misuse and abuse of opioid products and treat or mitigate opioid use or related disorders or other effects of the opioid epidemic. The state plans to disburse funds of differing amounts to the counties annually.

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