EVANSVILLE — Mayor Stephanie Terry’s office is now accepting proposals for funding from the city’s opioid settlement fund.
The city announced applications opened Monday and must be submitted no later than midnight Oct. 28. Funding requests should be sent to mayor@evansville.in.gov with the subject line “Opioid Settlement Fund Request 2025.”
Here’s what to know.
Where is this money from?
The fund comes from dollars awarded to the city through national legal settlements with opioid manufacturers and distributors.
Eligible proposals must align with the guidance outlined in the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health’s recommendations for opioid settlement spending. Each request should identify which of the recommended categories it supports and explain how the proposed program meets that objective.
Who will decide where the money goes?
The city will have a small panel that reviews the proposals and makes recommendations to Terry. The mayor will make the ultimate decision which is then presented to city council.
The Courier & Press reached out to the mayor’s office and asked if the names of the members of the committee will be released to the public as they were last year. Communications director Joe Atkinson said they will be.
During the 2024 process, the Courier & Press reported multiple members of the committee had connections to organizations ultimately selected to receive money.
What do the requests need to include?
According to the city, the requests need:
What are the Johns Hopkins categories?
According to the city, request need to meet one or more of the following categories to be considered.
Resolution in place this year for grassroots organizations
In October 2024, the Evansville City Council passed a resolution “encouraging” the mayor’s office to route future opioid settlement dollars to local, grassroots organizations focused on harm-reduction initiatives.
The resolution, sponsored by Mary Allen, D-At-Large; then Fourth Ward rep Alex Burton; Paul Green, D-At-Large; and Missy Mosby, D-Second Ward, came after much public input following the city’s 2024 disbursement of opioid settlement funding.
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.
This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Evansville mayor accepting proposals from organizations wanting opioid settlement money
Reporting by Sarah Loesch, Evansville Courier & Press / Evansville Courier & Press
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