Grand Traverse County Opens $2.3 Million in Opioid Settlement Grants

Five years after the national opioid settlement began sending money to local governments, agencies and advocates in Grand Traverse County, Michigan, can apply for a share of more than $2.3 million in settlement funding. The county health department's request for proposals opens the grant process Sept. 14, with local agencies, community organizations and coalitions working in opioid prevention, harm reduction, treatment and recovery able to apply through 5 p.m. Nov. 20.

A spending plan years in the making

How to allocate a projected $6.4 million arriving through 2040 has been part of the county's conversation since it created an Opioid Settlement Spending Advisory Committee. The top five priorities identified — prevention, treatment, recovery, harm reduction and criminal-legal support — helped inform the committee on what to include in the draft request for proposals, County Health Officer Mike Lahey told county commissioners this summer.

Commissioners adopted the spending plan in August 2025. It splits allocations between Track A, consisting of internal county programs, and Track B, which will include community grants and nonprofits — the track now opening to outside applicants.

Pressure to move the money

The opening marks a turn for a county that had become a symbol of Michigan's slow local spending. As of this spring, Grand Traverse County was sitting on roughly $2 million with millions more expected, while a Michigan Association of Counties survey found 40 percent of responding counties had not distributed a single dollar of settlement funds.

The caution has drawn frustration from frontline providers in the Traverse City area, including harm reduction groups that operate naloxone distribution and syringe services on minimal budgets while opioid addiction continues to strain the region. Michigan recorded 1,938 overdose deaths in 2024 — a 33 percent drop from roughly 3,000 the year before, a decline state officials credit in part to aggressive statewide naloxone distribution — but that still outpaces annual traffic fatalities.

What happens next

Applications submitted by the Nov. 20 deadline will be reviewed against the advisory committee's priority areas before commissioners approve final awards. The county expects settlement payments to continue on a schedule stretching to 2040, giving the Track B community grant process a recurring role in how northern Michigan funds its response to the crisis.