While the federal government has put millions of dollars into healthcare and law enforcement efforts to deal with the ongoing opioid crisis, a new Department of Labor program is attempting to tackle the issue from a workforce perspective — and Southwest Washington will be among the first areas to to receive funding.
“Within the hours that it was released, I was on it,” said Cheryl Fambles, CEO of the Pacific Mountain Workforce Development Council. “I called (the Washington) Employment Security (Department) and said, ‘We need these dollars here in my region.’”
PacMtn was awarded $2.4 million last month as part of a new National Health Emergency Dislocated Worker Demonstration Grant offered by the Department of Labor. The workforce group was one of two in Washington to receive funding, which was among only six states to earn grants. Overall, $22 million was allocated in the program.
The grant program aims to address the opioid crisis through things like jobs training and support, which backers believe will have a two-fold effect. First, getting people in opioid-affected communities to work will help the economy, which analysts say has suffered $1 trillion in costs since 2001 as a result of the crisis. Second, they believe every worker they’re able to reach will be less likely to relapse or fall into addiction.
“You can combine the world of work, and the hope and dignity and possibilities of work with the healing process,” Fambles said.
Erica Maki, workforce initiatives manager at the state Employment Security Department, said the agency was eager to partner with the development councils, who are the “experts” on when individuals are ready to join the workforce.
“The target population is folks who are ready for employment services,” she said. “Connection to the workforce immediately is really helpful for individuals in recovery.”
The grants were structured so that applications needed to come from states, so ESD facilitated PacMtn’s request. The agency is receiving a small amount of the money to facilitate things like quarterly reports, budget analysis and program management. PacMtn and ESD are currently finalizing their contract for the distribution of funding.
“Our workforce development councils [are] actually doing the work of this grant,” Maki said.
In an emailed statement, the Department of Labor said the grants will help with “reskilling or upskilling” for specific fields, such as addiction and substance abuse treatment, pain therapy and management services and mental health treatment.
PacMtn serves Lewis, Thurston, Mason, Grays Harbor and Pacific Counties. The $2.4 million — administered over two years — will bolster its annual budget of about $12 million. The council’s first step will be to coordinate with partners like Choice Regional Health Network to target communities and programs where the funding will be effective.
The council is hoping to cast a wide net with its programs, helping people in recovery, families that have been touched by addiction and populations — like small-town communities, the homeless and people with criminal histories — that are disproportionately likely to suffer from opioid issues.
“Our communities are pretty significantly impacted,” Fambles said. “The five counties I’ve talked about have been pretty devastated by ongoing downturns in key industries. … Those are the places where addictions run rampant.”
Washington’s federal representatives agreed the money is much-needed in this region.
"Opioid abuse is affecting literally every community in Southwest Washington, and
Congress should continue making it a priority," Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler, R-Battle Ground, said in a statement. "I'm pleased to have played a part in this important effort by supporting the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act and directing resources toward helping men and women climb out of the pit of addiction and get back to being productive members of their homes and workplaces."
Sen. Maria Cantwell offered similar thoughts.
“Opioid addiction continues to have devastating effects on the state of Washington,” read her statement. “As Congress continues to take action to address this epidemic, this funding will help provide a multi-disciplinary approach to offering career and support services to those affected by the opioid crisis.”
Fambles said she envisioned the council starting a project to help pregnant mothers, reducing the number of children born into addiction. She hopes to start a regional call-in center to connect people to resources.
“We know where there are those little bits of help,” she said. “Maybe it’s the church on Monday nights. Maybe it’s the food bank on Thursdays at noon. We want to make sure they know.”
Another possible use of the funds is adding peer recovery counselors, who are former addicts who have received training and certification to help those who are currently struggling. PacMtn may be able to provide funding to place such workers at agencies in the counties it serves.
While the program is still unproven and small, Fambles is hopeful PacMtn — and the other entities receiving funding — can demonstrate its effectiveness.
“This is one little drop in the bucket, but a big piece of hope for us,” she said. “Nobody has any illusions about a magic wand.”
