OPINION: Opioid settlement funds should be use for treatment, prevention

It’s tempting to begin this op-ed about our city’s homeless people and substance use crises with a flood of numbers, headlines and research in a desperate call for action. We are after all still having the same conversations, still trying to solve the same problems.

When we talk about this crisis, we should be talking about real people — like my friend who overdosed our senior year, with no mentors or support as he watched his mother succumb to terminal cancer. Like the veterans I worked with for years, many of whom were living with lifelong disabilities and attempting to survive the ever-present burden of chronic pain. Like my childhood best friend’s mother, who fought addiction for years before it took her life. These are our families, our neighbors and the people we love.

In recovery, there’s a pivotal moment that can follow an overdose reversal — with a vital resource like naloxone — a brief but significant window when a person can be most open to life-saving treatment. This moment is known as the “golden opportunity.” Timely access to treatment following a non-fatal overdose, paired with peer support and harm reduction services, leads to dramatically higher chances of long-term recovery.

Right now, as a community, Albuquerque is in its own golden opportunity. At this very moment, thousands of people are awaiting this chance — along with their families and their loved ones. Over the next 20 years, Albuquerque and Bernalillo County will receive $150 million in opioid settlement funds — a rare opportunity to expand the full treatment spectrum, recovery services and staffing to support essential program operations. A joint city-county task force has outlined strategic, evidence-based recommendations to take action now.

The City Council has a rare chance to fund long-overdue programs for those facing homelessness, substance use and limited access to health care. However, the latest proposal from the City Council would allocate $10 million for the construction of yet another building — delaying life-saving services for years.

Ask any business owner, frontline worker or emergency responder, and they’ll tell you the truth: We don’t need more buildings — we need direct services. We need peer counseling programs that reach teenagers and young adults in their most vulnerable years — building protective factors, fostering resilience and reducing the risks that lead to substance use. We need overdose prevention kits in the hands of first responders. We need immediate investment in treatment, outreach and recovery support. We need to fund the people and programs that can turn the tide of this crisis — not more ribbon cuttings.

Many of us have good reason to feel unsure if real interventions will ever manifest as the city has already spent millions on infrastructure: a medical sobering center, a brand-new Community Safety Department and more. But buildings don’t help people recover — connection, relationships, case management, peer support and access to care do.

Our community’s ability to care for its people — all of them — is the beating heart of this state. We are better than this. The golden opportunity is now, and we cannot afford to delay. The City Council must hear from us — business owners, families and community members who live with the consequences of substance use every day. These settlement funds must go where they will make the most difference: into services, treatment, and prevention efforts that will save lives and strengthen our community.

On second thought, maybe I’ll leave you with just one statistic after all: In the time it took me to write this op-ed, nearly four more families lost a loved one to a preventable overdose. How many more people must we lose before we act?