More Than 1,700 People Participate in Town Halls, Surveys and Listening Sessions
Bernalillo County, N.M.—To date, Bernalillo County and the City of Albuquerque have received about $50 million in new funding through litigation settlements with opioid pharmaceutical manufacturers. Under mirroring resolutions passed by county and city legislators last year, the entities must develop a strategic spending plan to utilize these funds.
The county and city announced a collaboration in July with public health organization Vital Strategies and locally-based SBS Evaluation and Program Development Specialists to gather and summarize critical information toward the development of this strategic plan. This work has included a robust process to collect public input on priorities for overdose prevention and conducting an initial review of available data about drug-related overdose risk and prevention services.
“The opioid epidemic has impacted so many folks in our city, that’s why it is vital to engage the community about how settlement funding will be spent,” says Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller. “Thanks to residents giving their input, this funding is one step closer to being used to help uplift the most vulnerable and provide additional resources.”
Through July and August, a series of town halls and listening sessions were held to develop a strategic plan for investment of county and city settlement funds. Information-gathering efforts included:
- Five town hall meetings open to the public, each co-hosted by a county district commissioner and a city councilor, which were attended by 411 community members
- A digital survey where respondents could submit online responses to the same questions addressed during town hall meetings, which garnered nearly 170 responses
- Sixteen listening sessions organized by key stakeholder groups, including four sessions dedicated specifically to outreach to Native communities, reaching over 153 people for information about their sector and expertise
- A health survey led by researchers from the Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health, conducted in partnership with community organizations and service providers and gathering responses from nearly 700 people in the county who are vulnerable to overdose.
“Public interest in this engagement process was amazing,” says Donette Perkins, a program manager with Vital Strategies, “and we had great support from county and city health officials, commissioners, and city councilors to plan, organize and run more than double the number of events than we were originally planning.”
In addition to the community engagement plan, Vital Strategies also worked with state, county and city leaders to examine available data about overdose risks, and prevention and treatment services in the Albuquerque region. The team conducted more than twenty consultations with individuals at various city, state and county agencies and organizations who lead or are otherwise responsible for programming to or reporting information relevant to overdose risks. This process included data from a variety of sources, including medical investigations, first responders, community- and jail-based treatment service providers, and harm reduction service providers. Consultations aimed to answer descriptive questions about overdose in the region, to help inform an effective response.
“We are dedicated to ensuring that the voices of our community are central to how we allocate settlement funds,“ says Dr. Wayne Lindstrom, BernCo Deputy County Manager for Behavioral Health. “This collaborative process helps us direct these resources to where they are needed most.“
On Oct. 24, Vital Strategies will present the Strategic Plan to the Local Government Coordinating Commission (LGCC), a joint committee of the City of Albuquerque, Bernalillo County, and Albuquerque Public Schools. On Nov. 12, the Bernalillo County Commission will be asked to formally adopt the strategic plan at its administrative meeting. The Albuquerque City Council is also expected to consider the plan soon, with the date for their formal adoption still to be confirmed.
About Bernalillo County
Bernalillo County is 1,160 square miles and is New Mexico’s most populous county with more than 676,000 residents. Bernalillo County government provides a wide range of public services to residents who live in Albuquerque, Los Ranchos and Tijeras with approximately 106,000 residents living in unincorporated areas of the county. Bernalillo County employs approximately 2,500 people and has an annual operating budget, capital investments and other funds of more than $1 billion. Elected officials include five county commissioners, assessor, clerk, probate judge, sheriff and treasurer.
About the City of Albuquerque
The City of Albuquerque Department of Health, Housing, and Homelessness strives to improve the quality of life for everyone in Albuquerque by supporting behavioral health, public health initiatives, affordable housing, and homeless services.
About Vital Strategies
Vital Strategies is a global health organization that believes every person should be protected by a strong public health system. Our overdose prevention program works to strengthen and scale evidence-based, data-driven policies and interventions to create equitable and sustainable reductions in overdose deaths. Work across seven U.S. states is supported by funding from the Bloomberg Philanthropies Overdose Prevention Initiative, launched in 2018, and targeted investments from other partners.
Learn more at https://www.vitalstrategies.org/programs/overdose-prevention/