In July of 2024, the Forum reported on $1.5 million available to the area from national opioid settlement funds. Montrose County Commissioner Sue Hansen told the Forum then that the Southwest Colorado Opioid Regional Council (SWCORC) had a two-year plan in place for the funds.
Although Hansen is no longer a member of SWCORC, she recently met with the Forum alongside SWCORC facilitator Janet Rowland, of Delta, to share updates on how the funds have been spent.
“A two-year plan is required by the AG (Attorney General). Every region has to do it,” Rowland explained. She said regions are required to update their plans every two years, and said SWCORC updated their plan a year ago.
A summary of the two-year plan is available on SWCORC.org. Details of agencies that have been awarded funds, including amount and for what purpose, can also be found on the website.
To assess the region’s needs, Rowland said SWCORC has conducted focus groups and interviews with stakeholders, judges, attorneys, law enforcement and people in recovery from opioid addiction.
“One of the issues focus groups found is people didn’t know how to find resources that were available to them,” Rowland said.
She added that SWCORC’s webpage identifies resources available for people who may need them.
Rowland said the settlement funds are meant to support five categories related to the opioid crisis, including: prevention and education, treatment, harm reduction, recovery, and criminal justice. SWCORC distributes the settlement funds by awarding grants to agencies that serve at least one of these categories. A scoring committee evaluates agencies that apply for grants and determines which have the potential to provide the most help.
“So far we’ve spent 1.5 million. After this grant cycle, we’ll have spent 2 million in June," said Rowland.
Agencies in San Miguel and Ouray counties have been awarded more than $400,000.
SWCORC awarded a total of $200,000 to the counties for juvenile services. These funds were awarded for the purposes of expanding a bilingual case management position to full-time and engaging with and educating high risk youth and families.
Telluride Medical Center was awarded $48,877 to establish free or sliding-scale medically assisted treatment services; the funds were also awarded for medication lock boxes, Narcan distribution, and patient education and outreach.
Tri-County Health Network was awarded $185,433 to establish a Recovery Access Fund (RAF), which provides vouchers that will help cover the cost of up to six therapy sessions for those struggling with substance abuse or related conditions. The fund provides additional sessions to patients who demonstrate financial need. Those who apply will also be provided with additional support, such as help applying for benefits and support in navigating additional resources.
Hansen noted that it’s difficult to get settlement funds into the West End.
”The West End doesn't have any providers — that poses a challenge. If there was somebody there that would apply, I’m sure there would be favorable looks on that,” she said, although she noted it’s possible that Tri-County Health Network’s RAF is serving those living in the West End.
To distribute funds, Colorado was divided into 19 regions. San Miguel and Montrose counties are part of Colorado’s Region 14. Also included in Region 14 are Gunnison, Delta, Hinsdale and Ouray counties.
Voting members of SWCORC who represent San Miguel and Montrose counties include: San Miguel County Public Health Director Grace Franklin, Ouray and San Miguel Counties Director of Human Services Linnea Edwards, Montrose County Police Chief Blaine Hall, and Montrose County Director of Human Services Jennifer Sherwood.
This story is funded by the Telluride Foundation through a grant dedicated to health care reporting for 2026.
