The Denver Department of Public Health & Environment is accepting program proposals to address the opioid crisis with roughly $4.5 million in settlement funding.

The Colorado Opioid Abatement Council — which was created by the Colorado Department of Law to provide oversight — awarded Denver roughly $4.7 million last fall.

Colorado is anticipated to receive roughly $700 million in settlements from opioid manufacturers and distributors over the next 18 years, of which Denver is expected to receive $33.8 million, according to the Attorney General’s office.

The state currently has about $39.1 million to distribute statewide.

Opioids have killed more than 8,500 Coloradans over the past two decades.

In 2020 alone, Colorado had roughly 1,500 drug overdose deaths, nearly two-thirds of which were from opioids, according to Colorado Health Institute. The 1,500 drug overdoses in 2020 represented a nearly 40% increase over the previous year.

Under the framework for distributing the settlement, 60% of the allocation goes directly to the state’s 19 opioid regional councils, which includes Denver.

Denver’s plan includes more than 50 recommendations for how the settlement funds could be used with a focus on prevention, treatment and expanded infrastructure and services.

The plan, according to DDPHE, allocates:

– $1.5 million for prevention of substance use.

– $1.8 million for treatment strategies, including efforts to reduce costs, increase “culturally responsive care,” and adding providers.

– $1.2 million for additional projects that change the ways those who misuse opioids “interact with systems and their community networks.”

Interested entities should primarily serve Denver residents. Proposals are due by June 5.