A Kentucky county in the heart of Appalachia spent $15,000 of its opioid settlement money on an ice rink.

• They provided free entry for students who completed the DARE curriculum, recovery program participants, and foster families.

The responses:

• County officials and proponents of the rink say offering youth drug-free fun like skating is an appropriate use of the money.
• But some affected by the crisis described the spending decision as “heartbreaking.”
• Local advocates agree kids deserve enriching activities but said the community has more pressing needs that the settlement money was intended to cover.

The details: Those in support of the rink say it fits with the principles of the Icelandic prevention model.

• The Icelandic model is a collaborative community-based approach to preventing substance use that has been highly effective at reducing teen alcohol use in Iceland over the past 20 years.
• Instead of expecting children to “just say no,” it focuses on creating an environment where young people can thrive without drugs.
• While the model involves creating fun activities like ice skating, the intervention also requires building a coalition of parents, school staffers, faith leaders, public health workers, researchers, and others and conducting rigorous data collection.

The larger context: Another Kentucky county has for the past several years been implementing the Icelandic model, including through opioid settlement funds.

• Franklin County’s Just Say Yes program includes more than a dozen collaborating organizations and an in-depth annual youth survey.

Our analysis: Using the opioid settlement funds for prevention is essential to resolve this addiction crisis and prevent the next one.

• Effective prevention involves providing healthy and empowering opportunities for kids.
• Decision-makers and the public need to be better informed about how to invest in effective substance use prevention.
• It is also critical for each community to determine its own needs, prioritize how the funding should be spent, and be transparent about that process.

Source: An ice rink to fight the opioid crisis? Some regrets over settlement cash spending (NBC)