Franklin County 2039: Mobilizing our community for a future free from addiction

For too long, our community has watched the opioid epidemic unfold like a slow-moving storm – one that has not only claimed the lives of far too many friends, neighbors, and loved ones, but has also destroyed families, weakened our workforce and overwhelmed public systems. 

Today, Franklin County stands at a pivotal moment. 

With the arrival of opioid settlement funds – money secured from the manufacturers and distributors who fueled this crisis – we have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to change the trajectory of our community’s health. These funds have been allocated to the state, as well as to city and county governments. 

Of course, this money alone is not a cure, or even a prescription; it is merely a tool. To use it effectively, we must be deliberative, pragmatic, and united. Only then can we begin to work our way out of crisis-mode responses toward the kind of strategic, long-term action that leads to transformational change.

This is the goal of the Franklin County Opioid Alliance.

Spearheaded by the Franklin County Agency for Substance Abuse Policy (ASAP) and in close collaboration with local government, public health, and many community partners, the Alliance is a deliberate and coordinated mobilization of our community’s capacity. Without such an effort, opioid abatement dollars will virtually “spend themselves”; after all, there is no shortage of urgent need, nor of eligible strategies that could be implemented in Franklin County. 

The Opioid Alliance seeks to move beyond scattered efforts toward a more unified, sustainable strategy for investing with precision to ensure that every dollar of settlement funding coming into our community fosters a legacy of health and healing. 

This lens is critical, as of course these settlement funds are finite; the payout schedule concludes in the year 2039.

That date—2039—has become our north star.

We are currently developing a strategic plan entitled “Franklin County 2039.” The concept is simple yet ambitious: By the time the funding streams run dry, we want the landscape of our community to be unrecognizable in the best possible way. We envision a Franklin County where the “opioid crisis” is a chapter in our history books, not a daily reality for our families. To achieve this, we need a strategy that focuses on outcomes and environments, ensuring that the structures we build today are not only effective and scaleable, but also sustainable for future generations.

This is a herculean task, but one we believe Franklin County is ready to take on. To ensure we are attacking the problem from every angle, the strategic planning process is being driven by four dedicated ASAP Subcommittees, each representing one of the following “pillars” of a Recovery-Ready Community:

• Prevention: Stopping substance use before it starts by reducing risk factors and increasing protective factors for youth.
• Risk Reduction: Implementing evidence-based strategies to keep people alive and reduce individual and community harms associated with substance use.
• Treatment: Ensuring accessible, high-quality care for those ready to seek help.
• Recovery: Building the “recovery capital” – things like affordable housing, second-chance employment and community belonging – that make sobriety sustainable.

Over the next few months, in a series of columns, we will dive deeper into each of these four pillars. We will share what “upstream prevention” looks like in practice, how risk reduction saves lives, and how we are building capacity not just for treatment, but for recovery that lasts.

This work requires more than just a committee; it requires a movement. It requires the engagement of schools, businesses, faith communities, healthcare providers, and families – in other words, it requires the voice and vision of the entire community. That’s because ultimately, this work is not just about fixing problems; it’s about building a healthier community for every one of us in Franklin County. 

To learn more about the Alliance, the “Franklin County 2039” plan, and how to get involved, please visit the ASAP website at https://franklinkyasap.org/.

The year 2039 is coming. Let’s make sure that when it arrives, we look back on this moment as a turning point.

Franklin County’s future is worth it. Let’s get to work.

Amelia Berry is the Project Director of Just Say Yes, a collaborative prevention initiative headquartered at the Franklin County Health Department and governed by the board of the Franklin County Agency for Substance Abuse Policy (ASAP). ASAP’s mission is to promote policies that prevent and reduce harm from substance use through the engagement of prevention, treatment and enforcement strategies.Charles Kendell is the ASAP Board Coordinator.