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“Emilee Shell [Leading with Conviction™ 2023] tried to reconcile two conflicting messages from the state Legislature as staff and clients from the Jackson women’s addiction recovery residence Grace House filled the Mississippi Capitol.
“That January morning was Recovery Day, an event designed to connect politicians with those who have experienced substance use disorder in Mississippi. From the Senate floor, lawmakers clapped for Shell, Grace House’s director, and others in the gallery who were recovering from addiction, saying they were proud of everyone’s journeys.
Shell said she thinks the state could miss out on funding … organizations run by people with decades of experience addressing Mississippi’s addiction crisis.
“But that recognition came a month-and-a-half after a council the Legislature had tasked with managing hundreds of millions of opioid settlement dollars submitted its recommendations for the first round of state spending. The council members ranked 127 applications last fall into tiers based on how highly they recommended funding projects that aim to address the opioid epidemic.
“Grace House’s application was scored in the third of five tiers. That application, which asked for $600,000 to expand medical services for people who’ve completed intensive rehab and are starting to live independently, sat below some applications that proposed approaches experts said could be ineffective at preventing more overdoses.
“Shell said the decision was both surprising and expected. She and the Grace House staff were confident its proposal, if funded, would help keep women from relapsing. But Shell saw that in the council’s initial scoring, the majority of money the body recommended in the top two tiers was to organizations with representatives on the council.
“‘When funding becomes available, it’s like a who’s who popularity contest,’ Shell said on Recovery Day.
“Across the state, applicant organizations that work to treat and prevent opioid addiction have told Mississippi Today they worry the council did not fairly consider their plans to prevent more overdoses. They pointed to the potential for council member conflicts of interest and how the subcommittee grading wasn’t standardized.
“Because of that, Shell said she thinks the state could miss out on funding Grace House and other organizations run by people with decades of experience addressing Mississippi’s addiction crisis — organizations with ideas that could save lives.
“‘I feel like we were definitely overlooked,’ she said.”
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