Crow Wing County panel details how opioid grants fund testing, recovery housing and prevention activities

Ann Pickar, a Community Corrections representative, told the county committee that REACT (Responsibility, Engagement, Accountability, Change, Trust) uses a $15,000 opioid-grant award to reduce financial barriers that can keep people from complying with probation drug testing. "We took $8,500 of that for drug testing, $1,500 strictly to ETG [alcohol testing], $2,300 into gas cards and $100 for bus tokens," Pickar said, noting partner vendors who provide vouchers and the program process of returning funds to the grant.

Sheila Haver Camp and colleagues from Burlington Recovery Homes presented the recovery-housing model they operate in Brainerd and other county towns. Haver Camp said Burlington has nine homes and seven apartments and has served more than 775 people since opening; the group currently reported capacity for about 120 residents and an average stay of roughly 10 months in 2025. She described a mix of funding and referral sources (probation, Department of Corrections ISR, social workers, courts) and said 70% of residents have a mental-health diagnosis while roughly 70% are on parole, probation or supervised release. She told commissioners Burlington received a $20,000 Blade opioid grant and used it for staff SAPS prevention training, recreation equipment (kayaks, bikes), a fish house to support family outings, naloxone distribution events and community activities to build protective factors around clients.

A resident, Patrick, spoke about his own recovery in Burlington homes: "I went through the Burlington houses and was able to just slow down and get my life back on track one piece at a time," he said, and described being offered a career path and improved family stability as direct results of recovery housing.

Commissioners questioned whether opioid-settlement funds should prioritize prevention and youth education rather than treatment for people already addicted; presenters argued both approaches are needed. The discussion included specifics of grant spending (percent spent to date, program outcomes such as fewer probation violations and faster stabilization) and program barriers, such as transportation gaps in rural parts of the county.

Why this matters: county-level opioid settlement and Blade coalition dollars support both prevention and direct services. Local officials heard measurable uses of funds (testing, transportation, housing, training, naloxone distribution) and testimony that recovery housing and financial supports reduced court violations and aided stabilization. Commissioners raised the policy tradeoff of prevention-versus-treatment investment as local funds and grant pools decline.