Milwaukee County will invest $7.5 million over the next three years to fight the local opioid epidemic under legislation signed Wednesday at the Kosciuszko Community Center.
County Executive David Crowley joined local officials to discuss the funding, which will target high-risk groups, including incarcerated individuals and older adults.
“It is an honor to be here to sign legislation approving the fourth cohort of projects funded by the opioid settlement funds,” Crowley said. “The opioid crisis has devastated many families, strained our systems and has disproportionately harmed communities of color all across our county.”
The funds are part of a larger multibillion dollar national legal settlement against opioid manufacturers that helped to fuel the opioid epidemic.
Wisconsin received more than $870 million as part of that settlement. Of that funding, $111 million was earmarked for Milwaukee County from 2023 to 2041.
The funds are to be used specifically for the issue of opioid addiction, education and fueling recovery efforts.
“We’re turning every dollar that we receive into a catalyst for treatment, for recovery and for prevention,” Crowley said. “Today’s signing continues that work, directing resources towards the programs best positioned to reach people where they are and to address the immediate and long-term impacts of this epidemic.”
In July, the County Board of Supervisors voted to adopt an action report requesting allocation of nearly $7.5 million in opioid settlement funds for eight initiatives aimed at reducing opioid and substance use disorders and expanding treatment and prevention services in fiscal years 2027-2029.
Local treatment leaders Tahira Malik, chief operations officer for Samad’s House, a sober living facility for women, and Kenneth Ginlack, chief executive officer of Serenity Inns, a residential and treatment center for men, both said at the time they wanted the funds to support efforts to reduce overdoses in Black and Brown communities.
Projects funded in new cohort
Approximately $730,032 from the latest round of funding will support the implementation of Contingency Management pilot treatment, an evidence-based program that includes drug testing, individual therapy, group sessions and incentives for negative drug tests.
“These are the types of programs that matter because we’re trying to make sure we reach these programs, those communities and those parts of our communities that wouldn’t have been reached if we hadn’t partnered together and done this work together,” said Jeremy Triblett, prevention integration manager for the Milwaukee County Department of Health and Human Services.
Funds will also support three new positions with the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner’s Office: a forensic pathologist, a medicolegal death investigator and a forensic chemist. The intended outcome is to improve investigation turnaround times and increase capacity of the office.
Plans also include the creation of an opioid-responsive park system, intended to reduce overdose risk and improve safety across county parks.
Guy Smith, executive director of Milwaukee County Parks, said Wednesday he was grateful that more than $173,000 was being invested to help park rangers receive the tools, training and resources they need to respond to overdoses and address opioid-related health and safety concerns.
“Our staff and particularly, our park rangers, can find themselves on the front lines when someone experiences a medical emergency,” Smith said. “This initiative brings harm-reduction resources directly into our park system, allowing our staff to respond more effectively to overdose emergencies while also addressing hazards such as improperly discarded syringes.”
The largest pool of funds, more than $3 million, will support community access to substance use care through community providers, including outpatient, residential, and recovery support services.
Eligible individuals must be age 18 or older, live in Milwaukee County and meet federal poverty guidelines. Access to services will be facilitated through no-cost screenings conducted at designated access points.
Latest overdose numbers show growing disparities
This year, through Aug. 26, there were 189 confirmed drug overdose deaths, with 62 probable cases pending toxicology, according to data provided by Timothy Schabo, operations manager for the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner’s Office. Last year, through the end of August, there were 258 overdose deaths in the county.
Racial disparities have grown among overdose victims. In 2018, American Indian, African American and Hispanic or Latino groups in Milwaukee combined for 35% of fatal overdoses. So far this year, the groups account for 59% of all overdose deaths.
African Americans have had a higher rate of overdose deaths per 100,000 residents than whites in the county each year since 2021, according to data from the Overdose Dashboard. This year, 48% of confirmed overdose victims were Black, compared with a 39% rate for whites and 10% for Hispanics. According to 2025 estimates by the U.S. Census Bureau, 27% of residents in Milwaukee County are Black, while 61% are white.
An NNS and Wisconsin Watch report found that older Black men, particularly those born from 1951 to 1970, have been most affected by the drug crisis in recent years. Nearly 13% of overdose victims so far in 2026 are Black men from that era.
More deaths from cocaine
While the latest funding is being used to address the opioid epidemic, new data shows that cocaine and other stimulants are contributing to more fatal overdoses.
Much of the focus from advocates and public officials has been on fentanyl, which can kill in trace amounts, but more deaths this year are tied to cocaine. Of the 189 confirmed overdose deaths through Aug. 24, 100 reports listed fentanyl as a contributor to the cause of death, while 108 listed cocaine.
Many cases listed cocaine and fentanyl, and often other types of drugs, as contributing factors in a fatal overdose, but 24 listed acute cocaine toxicity as the sole factor.
In late August, Ginlack talked to NNS about the increase in deaths related to the use of stimulants such as cocaine, and also methamphetamine, commonly referred to as meth.
“We need to get more education out there to change that,” he said.
Ginlack said another ongoing challenge is stigma and false narratives.
“People think, ‘yeah, I don’t use opioids,’ but they could use cocaine and that is an issue itself,” he said.
Jonathan Aguilar is a visual journalist at Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service who is supported through a partnership between CatchLight Local and Report for America.
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