CLAY COUNTY AWARDED a $600,000 2 year Opioid Planning grant from the Dogwood Health Foundation to assist in funding Clay County PLANS (Prepares, Leads, Administers, Navigates, Strategizes) Opioid Settlement funds. This grant will support Clay County in convening partners to conduct needs assessments, data collection/analysis and training and plan for administration reporting and technical assistance, all in preparation for expenditure of opioid settlement funds. All grant activities align with the NC MOA governing opioid settlement expenditures. Clay County is pleased to launch, as a part of this funding, our Emergency Management Training Fellowship. This program under the leadership of Health and Human Services' Community Paramedic Program seeks to grow future EMTs that will be offered extensive training on how to deal with the opioid epidemic In our rural communities. EMTs are on the frontline of the opioid crisis. The Clay County Board of Commissioners adopted a Resolution on October 7th, 2021 approving the MOA between the state of NC and local governments on proceeds relating to the settlement of opioid litigation. Clay County received their first settlement of payment of $55,530 last week and expects to receive an additional $122,122 later this summer. The County will continue to receive funding on average of $64,000 annually until the summer of 2038. Opioids have damaged many Clay County families leaving behind death and destruction and heartache. Our hope as a county is to use this funding to fight the opioid crisis in our community. Clay County leadership will be hosting several meetings in the future to obtain community input on how these funds should be used.