Supports for People with Lived Experience Grants

The Supports for People with Lived Experience Grants program, funded by Polk County Behavioral Health & Disability Services, aims to provide up to $200,000 to organizations offering critical services for individuals affected by substance use. This initiative focuses on enhancing treatment and recovery support, expanding peer-run organizations, and conducting harm reduction outreach. By leveraging opioid settlement funds, the program addresses historically underfunded areas to improve the quality of life for those in need in Polk County.

Background
As a part of the Polk County Opioid Settlement Funds FY2024-26 Strategic Plan, five awards of up to $200,000 ($1,000,000 total) in grant funding will be awarded to organizations in that will provide immediate interventions to save lives and enrich the quality of life and services for people with lived experience that fall under the Opioid Abatement Strategies Schedule B Letter B, Support People in Treatment and Recovery; Letter C, Connections to Care; and Letter H, Harm Reduction. These strategies are historically underfunded, and opioid settlement funds provide a unique opportunity for organizations to cover start-up costs for innovative programs or expand existing programs with limited capacity in Polk County. Programs must directly support people who are using substances, in treatment, and/or are in recovery. Program examples include, but are not limited to:
Filling gaps in wrap-around services for people receiving treatment for Opioid Use Disorder and co-occurring disorders and their familiesProviding health services for people with lived experience that are uninsured or underinsuredExpanding the capacity of peer-ran organizationsConducting harm reduction outreach, including mobile services and naloxone distribution outside the scope of current Iowa Health and Human Services programs