Nye County launches survey to guide opioid settlement fund spending

Nye County Health & Human Services has posted a countywide needs assessment survey asking residents and community partners to provide input to guide how opioid settlement funds are spent locally. The survey, posted Feb. 2, 2026, is intended to help the county prioritize prevention, treatment and recovery services and could shape how one-time litigation dollars are invested in local health and social supports.

How Nye County designs and spends those dollars matters for clinics, first responders, harm-reduction programs and families affected by opioid use. Settlement funds present a rare funding opportunity, but public-health experts caution that planning without broad, representative input risks reinforcing existing access gaps. Nye County’s item names residents and community partners as the survey audience but does not specify survey length, language availability, telephone access, incentives or a timeline for decisions; those details have not been provided publicly.

Elsewhere, municipal approaches show how local outreach can look. The City of Holyoke in Massachusetts has paired a public survey with an advisory body and public forums. Holyoke’s Office for Community Development is recruiting a Citizens Opioid Advisory Committee, noting that “Up to nine members will be selected.” The city describes the COAC as “an opportunity to actively participate in local government, and to make meaningful decisions regarding the use of opioid litigation settlement funds awarded to the city.” Mayor Joshua A. Garcia seeks members with lived experience, listing people “actively using opioids, those in recovery, those with family members impacted by opioid use disorder, those who have experienced a loss associated with opioid use disorder and young adults.”

Holyoke’s community survey is framed as quick and accessible: “It only takes 10-15 minutes, and the survey is available in English and Spanish.” The city offers a phone option for people without internet: “No google or internet access? Call 413-322-5610 and take the survey over the telephone!” Holyoke is also offering public forums, a recorded workshop titled “How to Access Opioid Funds In Holyoke- An Application Workshop” to explain how agencies can apply for funds, and a random drawing in which “Ten survey takers will be randomly selected for prizes and announced at the November 3, 2025 public meeting. Prize winners do not need to be present.”

National public-health groups have urged jurisdictions to center people with lived and living experience when planning settlement spending. Prevention Institute and partners emphasized that “Opioid settlement funds provide a critical opportunity to invest in public health approaches for substance use and overdose prevention.” A webinar co-hosted by Prevention Institute and SheRay’s & Associates, LLC, stressed the importance of engaging People with Lived and Living Experience, exploring equity and inclusion, and increasing coordination across partners and sectors. Organizers listed intended outcomes including “increased use of tools, frameworks, and materials that support substance misuse prevention and harm reduction” and “increased coordination across partners, sectors, and jurisdictions.”

For Nye County residents, the immediate step is participation. Providing input now can influence whether funds go to prevention campaigns, treatment access, recovery supports, or harm-reduction services. Residents who want more information about the survey or how their input will be used should contact Nye County Health & Human Services for the survey link, language and access options, and the county’s timeline for deciding how settlement funds will be allocated. In the months ahead, local officials will need to translate survey results into transparent spending plans so that settlement dollars reduce harm and expand equitable access to services.