Wood County
Opioid Remediation through use of Settlement Dollars
Update for South Wood County Collaborative 1/14/25
All Applications Received
Technical Review
Vesper Prevention and Safety Project, Village of Vesper (requesting $14,829.12)
After consultation with Corporation Counsel, determined that request did not fall within list of approved uses.
Gateways Opioid Target Abatement Reduction Program, Gateways Counseling (requesting $100,000.00)
WCA legal counsel, Andy Phillips, advised that we are not allowed to use settlement funds to pay for staff salaries in for-profit agencies. Requested but did not receive a revised budget.
$555,567.54 Available� $453,619.74 Recommended for funding
Vivent Health Harm Reduction Project, Vivent Health | $36,874.74 |
First Responder and Frontline Workforce Training on Opioid Prevention and Harm Reduction, Mid-State Technical College | $48,000.00 |
Rent Smart: Helping tenants find and keep safe, sober, and affordable housing, UW-Madison Division of Extension | $2,455.00 |
Harm Reduction and Education for Domestic and Sexual Violence, Wisconsin Rapids Family Center | $50,000.00 |
Kairos Care, Hannah Center | $75,000.00 |
MACY's Possibility Project, Marshfield Area Coalition for Youth | $61,950.00 |
Employee Wellness Initiative, Wood County Sheriff’s Department | $32,020.00 |
Three Bridges Recovery Wisconsin Inc Peer Support Recovery Project, Three Bridges Recovery Wisconsin Inc | $54,320.00 |
Juvenile Justice Ministries - Life Choices, Badgerland Youth for Christ | $20,000.00 |
Officer Mental Wellness, Marshfield Police Department | $12,500.00 |
Wood County Medication Assisted Recovery Program, Wood County Criminal Justice | $60,500.00 |
Beyond the shadows: Embracing Opioid Recovery and Resilience, Rise Up Central WI Inc | $29,000 |
Vivent Health Harm Reduction Project
Project Overview: Vivent Health will provide harm reduction services in collaboration with the Wood County Health Department. The funding will support LifePoint syringe access services which provide distribution of sterile syringes, intramuscular naloxone, xylazine test strips to people who use drugs. All harm reduction encounters also include education and conversations around safer use practices, overdose prevention trainings, and referrals to services for treatment or other care. Vivent Health has collaborated with the Wood County Health Department and has provided LifePoint services since June 2023. As an expansion of current harm reduction services in Wood County, Vivent Health will offer free mail order based harm reduction supplies to any resident of the county. In order to evaluate the program and client access to community resources, Vivent Health will conduct two focus groups with people who are actively using drugs in Wood County.
Total Request: $36,874.74
Average Score: 17.67
Exhibit E Approved Use of Funding: (Core): H. Expand Syringe Service Programs; (Other) Part 2: Prevention: H. Prevent overdose deaths and other harms (harm reduction)
First Responder and Frontline Workforce Training on Opioid Prevention and Harm Reduction, Mid-State Technical College
Project Overview: Mid-State Technical College will use funds to offer training to current students and incumbent workers in first responder roles and service industries. They will learn strategies around harm reduction and prevention as it relates to the work they do. This includes specialized training for law enforcement, public safety, healthcare, and the service industry. This will also include training for Mid-State faculty members and K-12 teachers in Wood County. We will also offer training to the general population, offering awareness and resources so they can work to prevent opioid dependency in our community. To sustain this initiative, Mid-State will record the training sessions as appropriate and incorporate them into the curriculum used by the program faculty. Through these funds, Mid-State will reach 275 students and community members in Wood County, further raising awareness to prevent opioid dependency, and further reducing the harm that results from increased addiction.
Total Request: $48,000.00
Average Score: 17.25
Exhibit E Approved Use of Funding: (Core) G. Prevention Programs; (Other) Part 2: Prevention: H. Prevent overdose deaths and other harms (harm reduction); Part 3: Other Strategies: I. First Responders
Rent Smart: Helping tenants find and keep safe, sober, and affordable housing, UW-Madison Division of Extension
Project Overview: Rent Smart focuses on the knowledge and skills essential for a successful renting experience. It challenges participants to know and understand their rights and responsibilities as a tenant, as well as the rights and responsibilities of their landlord. Wood County Extension has been offering Rent Smart in the Wood County jail since 2022. In 2024, an effort was made to increase referrals from recovery coaches and community partners working with folks in recovery looking for safe and sober housing. With the completion of the new jail in 2025 Extension would like to expand its offerings and increase the community partnerships to continue to support safe and sober housing for individuals in recovery who face barriers to obtaining housing. This project request is to provide educational materials for the Rent Smart and WeCOPE curricula to support safe and sober housing and skills to encourage a healthy environment to support recovery.
Total Request: $2,455.00
Average Score: 17.00
Exhibit E Approved Use of Funding: (Core) E. Expansion of warm hand-off programs and recovery services
Harm Reduction and Education for Domestic and Sexual Violence, Wisconsin Rapids Family Center
Project Overview: The Wisconsin Rapids Family Center (WRFC) will utilize this grant funding to continue and enhance harm reduction and harm reduction education to survivors of domestic and sexual violence, including age-appropriate education to children who have experienced or witnessed abuse. Shelter staff, as well as Advocates, will continue harm reduction with sheltered clients and increase education and focus on positive coping skills. Throughout this grant period, WRFC will provide referral and warm hand off services to recovery services. WRFC will invite local recovery services, such as Three Bridges Recovery, to the organization to present an overview of their services and host on site office hours to reduce the safety and transportation barriers for victims. Additionally, staff will work to create and conduct trainings for community agencies, coalitions and partners on the correlation between domestic and sexual violence and drug use to increase community awareness and reduce stigma.
Total Request: $50,000.00
Average Score: 16.67
Exhibit E Approved Use of Funding: (Core) E. Expand harm reduction programs and recovery services; G. Prevention Programs; (Other) Part 1: Treatment: C. Connect people who need help to the help they need (connections to care); B. Support People in Treatment and Recovery; Part 2: Prevention; and Part 3: Other Strategies: K. Training
Kairos Care, Hannah Center
Project Overview: Kairos Care Hannah Center offers an Individual Goal Based Program for nonresidential women in crisis. Each client receives individualized care which focuses on setting and achieving long and short-term goals through guided support, advocacy, referrals, Life Skills Classes, and more. This program will assist each woman as she works to create lasting positive changes in her life as well as the lives of her children, setting them up for a happy and healthy future. Being an individualized program, the length of Kairos Care is based upon each woman's progress and achievement of her goals. There is an intake process for acceptance into this program.
Total Request: $75,000.00
Average Score: 16.67
Exhibit E Approved Use of Funding: (Core) E. Expansion of warm hand-off programs and recovery services; (Other) Part 1: Treatment: C. Connect people who need help to the help they need (connections to care)
MACY's Possibility Project, Marshfield Area Coalition for Youth
Project Overview: Research shows that delaying the onset of youth substance use is one of the most important factors in combating the opioid epidemic. Effective prevention identifies risk and protective factors present in the community and develops data-driven strategies to reduce risks and increase protection. MACY is proposing to build upon the science that identifies “the most effective programs are those that adopt social competency and social influence approaches… such as…normalizing delaying or never initiating substance use.” https://www.naco.org/resource/osc-youth-prevention The Possibility Project will leverage existing MACY initiatives, including the Drug Task Force, Mental Health Task Force, and the Marshfield and Columbus Leadership Alliance to create a movement that increases positive mental health and reduces access to alcohol, tobacco, opioids and other drugs while changing community norms and attitudes toward substance use. The initiative will achieve community level change through formal linkages with key community partners. The project will be evaluated to document impact.
Total Request: $61,950.00
Average Score: 16.5
Exhibit E Approved Use of Funding: (Core) G. Prevention Programs; (Other) Part 3: Other Strategies: J. Leadership, planning and coordination
Wood County Medication Assisted Recovery Program, Wood County Criminal Justice
Project Overview: The Wood County Medication Assisted Recovery Program is a jail-based program that serves Wood County Jail inmates and aims to provide early intervention by providing screening for substance use disorders, medical and clinical treatment, peer recovery support, and medication for alcohol/opioid use disorder. Inmates are supported three months prior to jail discharge and three months post-release, with goals to reduce recidivism, overdose events, and connect individuals with resources in the community to increase treatment engagement and community health.
Total Request: $60,500.00
Average Score: 16.33
Exhibit E Approved Use of Funding: (Core) F. Treatment for Incarcerated Population; E. Expansion of warm hand-off programs and recovery services; (Other) Part 1: Treatment: D. Address the needs of criminal justice-involved persons
Employee Wellness Initiative, Wood County Sheriff’s Department
Project Overview: A priority of the Wood County Sheriff’s Department is employee wellness and initiatives to ensure staff are addressing the demands of the criminal justice system in a healthy way. Many employees are impacted by secondary trauma associated with opioid-related emergencies. The wellness of employees directly affects the services provided to the community. It is imperative to provide quality services to the citizens as well as the many stakeholders impacted by the Wood County Sheriff’s Department. It is our goal to continue improving resources available to employees for their overall wellness. Some of the resources currently available are Peer-to-Peer Support, a Chaplain program and a mental health officer. Our goal is to implement wellness visits with a qualified Mental Health Provider so employees are able to discuss their emotions and concerns in a healthy way. We also aim to provide a secluded area to provide employees the opportunity to meet confidentially.
Total Request: $32,020.00
Average Score: 15.83
Exhibit E Approved Use of Funding: (Other) Part 3: Other Strategies: I. First responders
Three Bridges Recovery Wisconsin Inc Peer Support Recovery Project, Three Bridges Recovery Wisconsin Inc
Project Overview: Three Bridges Recovery Wisconsin Inc (TBR) Peer Support Recovery Project will utilize community presentations, community outreach, CCAR recovery coach academy and training of our coaches to reduce stigma within the community by attending events and hosting presentations, training 20 individuals in the CCAR recovery coach academy, along with acquiring further education for our coaches to keep up to date regarding substance use disorder (SUD).
Total Request: $54,320.00
Average Score: 15.67
Exhibit E Approved Use of Funding: (Core) E. Expansion of warm hand-off programs and recovery services; A. Broaden access to naloxone; G. Prevention Programs; (Other) Part 1: Treatment: B. Support people in Treatment and Recovery; C. Connect People who Need Help to the Help they Need (Connections to Care); Part 2: Prevention: G. Prevention of opioid misuse; H. Prevent Overdose Deaths and Other Harms (Harm Reduction); Part 3: Other Strategies: K. Training
Juvenile Justice Ministries - Life Choices, Badgerland Youth for Christ
Project Overview: Through several strategic outreach and preventative initiatives, JJM- Life choices will strive to educate, support, and mentor students who are suffering the ill-effects of substance abuse or are at risk for becoming involved with harmful substances, to help prevent and overcome addictions and harmful substance behaviors.
Total Request: $20,000.00
Average Score: 14.92
Exhibit E Approved Use of Funding: (Core) G. Prevention Programs; (Other) Part 2: Prevention: G. Prevent misuse of opioids; Part 1: Treatment: B. Support people in Treatment and Recovery
Officer Mental Wellness, Marshfield Police Department
Project Overview: This project would allow Marshfield Police Department to contract with Ascent Consulting, LLC and allow an on-site Licensed Professional Counselor to meet with staff members to assess them on Mental Health/Officer Wellness, Critical Incident Stress Debriefing, Relationship Concerns, Resilience Training, and Crisis Communications.
Total Request: $12,500.00
Average Score: 11.00
Exhibit E Approved Use of Funding: (Other) Part 3: Other Strategies: I. First Responders
Beyond the shadows: Embracing Opioid Recovery and Resilience, Rise Up
Project Overview: In collaboration with Wood County Human Services (Youth Diversion) and Three Bridges Recovery, Rise Up would like to head a mural project with impact in Wisconsin Rapids. We would like this project to be an education and stigma reduction campaign to fight Opioid abuse but also educate on recovery. This mural project will host an artist to express through mural mediums what it's like in recovery to reduce stigma.
The task force does not recommend this for funding. Rationale is that they do not have an approved site for the mural project. The task force also felt this was a high fiscal request for this type of project and funds would be better used in other areas.
Total Request: $29,000.00 NOT RECOMMENDED FOR FUNDING
Average Score: 13.83
Exhibit E Approved Use of Funding: (Core) G. Enrich prevention strategies; (Other) Part 1: Treatment: B. Support people in Treatment and Recovery
Webpage Development, Process Timeline, MOUS
Debrief about the process
We conducted a hotwash with the task force at the end of the meeting and developed ideas to improve the process in the future. Examples:
Next Steps