Colorado county investing more than $4 million into opioid prevention, treatment and recovery

One county in Colorado has committed to investing more than $4 million into opioid prevention, treatment and recovery. It's an effort to better address a need that still requires attention alongside the ongoing work happening across the county.

With the funding, Arapahoe County is working with partners like the Hornbuckle Foundation to help come up with solutions to reduce opioid use and the number of opioid overdoses. Foundation staff are in the community every week, conducting outreach and connecting people with resources.

"I've been coming here to Giving Heart for over two years, couple days a week usually, and today I saw 20 or 30 people I've never seen before," said Matthew Melsen, the organization's Director of Outreach.

Despite the warm February day, the Hornbuckle Foundation was helping people stay warm by distributing coats and gloves. Melsen said there's a growing need for their peer recovery support services as more people are struggling with homelessness and addiction.

"People that we know are overdosing and passing away and losing themselves to addiction, and so it's happening on a very large scale, and we need as a community to come together to fight that," said Melsen.

Jennifer Ludwig, the county's Public Health Director, says that with the additional $4 million in funding, the county hopes to work with more organizations to address opioid use and prevention and further expand resources for those in need.

"It takes all of us working together to truly prevent the start of use, the initiation and the treatment of it, and it takes all of us at all stages to be working on this problem together," said Ludwig.

Since getting national opioid settlement funds, the county and the Region 9 Opioid Abatement Council have prioritized harm reduction, treatment services, prevention and education, and sober living.

"Since opening [the county's health department] in 2023, we really have been able to have a far reach, and we have distributed more than 150,000 harm reduction resources. We've had more than 6,500 visits to our program and served more than 2,000 participants," said Ludwig.

In 2024, they launched Prevention Point, a mobile harm reduction service providing syringe exchange and disposal, overdose prevention education and fentanyl testing strips to the community. They also offer training and education on naloxone, the opioid overdose reversal drug.

"We know that our efforts in getting naloxone out into the community have saved lives," said Ludwig. "It's really important work, and it doesn't happen in just one year at a time. It will take a long time for us to get to where we're preventing entirely. So the investment over the years is going to be really significant for Arapahoe County."

Part of the county's harm reduction program is placing kiosks around the county that offer fentanyl testing strips and other harm reduction supplies. However, the county says withdrawal management remains under-resourced.

Melsen says he wants to see more opportunities to build a supportive community, bring people together for activities, and teach life skills such as building a resume and interviewing. He also hopes for better housing solutions for people in recovery.

"Sober living, treatment center, and detox are mostly where we bring people. But not everybody needs to detox. A lot of the people who are out here struggling with being unhoused are people who are just struggling with mental health, or they've caught a bad break," said Melsen.

Selected partners will work directly with Arapahoe County and the Region 9 Opioid Council to ensure money is being used effectively and to continue this work in the community.

"Having organizations like ours, who come out and meet people where they're at in their environment, in their community, where they feel comfortable, it helps build trust. It gives people some sort of hope that there's something on the other side for them," Melsen added.