it's no consolation for the families who've lost loved ones to the opioid epidemic but Governor Murphy today announced a major investment in the fight against the crisis armed with $95 million in settlement money from the opioid industry to expand Recovery Services and support for people battling addiction it means New Jersey now has a war chest of more than a billion dollars to Aid the cause and a senior correspondent Joanna gagas reports they'll need every penny today I'm honored to announce that we will be investing over $95 million over the next three years into a range of evidence-based strategies to expand care and support individuals in recovery Governor Murphy joined with the commissioners of the Department of Health and Human Services today to announce the first tranch of funding Investments that'll be made by the state the result of several opioid lawsuits brought by the Attorney General's office that have garnered approximately $1.2 billion in settlements for the state this funding is actually coming from settlement payments we are receiving from the opioid industry itself as a result of our litigation against them for creating and then fueling the opioid crisis those companies include several Pharmaceuticals including New Jersey based Johnson and Johnson along with three of the nation's largest Pharma Distributors and two of the largest pharmacies in the country CVS and Walgreens fact that the perpetrators are paying for this is a is a bit of sweet revenge I think uh for all the tragedy they' have caused Department of Human Services commissioner Sarah Adelman opened up today about her own connection to the issue as the daughter of a parent who lost their life to substance use disorder she served as chair of the opioid recovery and Remediation advisory Council that used data to make recommendations on where the money should go it'll be broken into six buckets $24 million to harm redu uction expansion activities to better meet people where they are 17.5 million to support Community peer recovery centers which are safe and welcoming places for individuals ready to receive support for their recovery 9 million dollar to expand mobile medication for addiction treatment which is an effective low barrier and evidence-based strategy in addition to the harm reduction treatment and medication expansion funding the state will also invest $8 million in keeping families together programs that use trauma informed therapy 19.5 million for a rapid referral program to help patients access medication treatment and 17 million in supports for housing stability for those struggling with addiction the announcement comes as the state is just starting to see the numbers come down to under 3,000 suspected opioid deaths a year while we are flattening the curve for some we are not flattening the curve for all and as we've seen the numbers drop off for white new jerseyans we've actually seen them continue to rise in the black and brown communities in our state which is unacceptable and we're seeing disproportionate amounts of people really affected in rural areas and staggering numbers in the elderly population members of The Advisory Council like nework Community Street teams Solomon Middleton Williams are continuing to lend their support to a larger strategic plan that'll guide the state over the next two decades of spending this money these recommendations are not pearly words on a paper they are the results of countless hours of listening analizing and debating you know and we held public sessions to hear directly from New Jersey residents most impacted by this crisis and today the administration made this commitment not a dollar will be spent filling budget holes or potholes it'll take about 18 years for that full $1.2 billion to come in and that number could increase as more loss are resolved the state does plan to reopen its portal to receive recommendations from the public as to how that money could best be spent in nework I'm Joanna Gagis NJ Spotlight News