Last fall, the Mineral County Commissioners voted to form a stakeholder group to help determine the direction of how the county’s allocation of the Opioid Settlement Fund would be used. Along with being a member of the local opioid stakeholder group, Mineral County Commissioner Cassie Hall has joined the National Association of Counties (NACo) Opioid Solutions Leadership Network.
Comprised of 30 county leaders across America, the Network meets to discuss how to effectively invest these funds to stabilize individuals and families affected by substance use problems, as well as provide a platform for county representatives to share their knowledge and suggestions with fellow county leaders.
Over the next year, the Opioid Solutions Leadership Network will explore the continuum of care (a term used to identify prevention, treatment, recovery, and harm reduction in the medical field) related to substance use and opioid abatement strategies while also receiving guidance from NACo’s partner, Vital Strategies.
Commissioner Hall explains that NACo is the national level stakeholder group tackling the opioid crisis as well as a state level group that tries to figure out how to diminish opioid use in Nevada. Commissioner Hall says that being the vice president of the state level group, she receives a lot of correspondence at the national level. This is how she found out about the NACo Opioid Solutions Leadership Network and applied to join. Hall believes they got bombarded with applications, yet only 30 county leaders were chosen to be a part of the Network. The only other two West Coast representatives within the Network include Mendocino, California’s Director of Behavioral Health Jenine Miller and Brad Finegood, the strategic advisor for the Department of Public Health in King County, Washington.
Hall says that NACo is very good at bringing groups together to think outside the box with whatever their challenges could be, and with these opioid funds being distributed across the nation, it presented an opportunity to strategize with other county leaders and get additional support.
Between the local opioid stakeholder group, the newly formed Nevada Central Health District, working with NACo, and Mineral County’s own public health department, Hall can help facilitate the opioid needs assessment in this area as well as have access to resources and expertise in other counties within the state as well as across the nation.
“NACo gets to what is at the heart of the issue for everyone. In the introduction meeting yesterday [January 9, 2023], we all shared our personal stories related to the opioid crisis,” Hall says. She explains that Mineral County has a high poverty rate, low education level, and economic issues, creating an environment that’s ripe for opioid use.
Mineral County Sheriff Bill Ferguson is also a part of the county’s Opioid Assessment and Mitigation stakeholder board and says, “I am part of a Opioid Assessment and Mitigation Stakeholder board. This board is set up to exam and find the best possible way to spend the opioid relief money…I support the use of this money to help bring counseling and prevention ideas into our community. I am no expert on the matter, but [I] do wish those [who are] addicted to seek treatment and take their lives back.”
Within the next year, Hall will attend two in-person NACo meetings in Washington, D.C. as well as two remote meetings with projects due in-between to bring back to the table. One of the benefits of being a part of NACo also includes travel reimbursements thanks to Arnold Ventures and The Pew Charitable Trusts, therefore Commissioner Hall’s involvement will be of no cost to Mineral County taxpayers.
“Everyone is just hoping to really learn what the other states are doing. There are judges, commissioners, county managers, and public health experts who bring a smattering of different perspectives to the table. We have a lot in common but it’s helpful to analyze some of those differences. This topic is a difficult one and sometimes you feel like you could bash your head against the wall trying to come up with a solution, so talking about different ideas with other counties is very helpful.
“NACo is a worthwhile organization at the state and national level, and because of this relationship we get access to grants that we probably would not have even known about before,” Hall adds.
Ways For the Community to Get Involved
Commissioner Hall also encourages the community to get involved by attending the weekly Commissioners meetings, asking questions, and understanding the issues that impact Mineral County. She will also be hosting monthly town hall meetings on the last Tuesday of the month at 6pm (the next one will be on January 31st) at the Hawthorne Convention Center on E Street, giving residents an additional in-person avenue to voice their concerns.
“People have their daily lives and I understand that, but these decisions impact daily lives. I’m trying to get away from Facebook and meet in person, stick to my community, and my meetings. I want to get to other CAB [Citizens Advisory Board] meetings in Mina, Luning, Walker Lake, and Schurz too so they don’t feel like they always have to drive here [to Hawthorne],” she says.
