Addressing the Opioid Crisis Series | Webinar 1: Research & Funding

Join the NLADA for the first webinar in our opioid series. In this webinar, we will provide an overview of the evidence base demonstrating how civil legal aid supports individuals with opioid and substance use disorders and federal funding opportunities that can advance your work.

Thirty-one percent of Americans know someone who is addicted to opioids, compared to 27 percent in 2017. In a 2018 survey of Legal Services Corporation (LSC) grantees, more than 95 percent reported that they provided services to individuals with opioid use disorders (OUDs). People with OUDs report legal needs around health (people with OUD report eight times the healthcare costs when compared to those without an OUD), family (drug use can limit how nurturing and safe the environment is for children), employment (workers with OUDs miss an extra 18.5 days of work than those without and also have higher turnover), and housing (early homeless experiences have been shown to predict drug misuse and behavior). Legal aid programs are already addressing each of these issues; this webinar is designed to show the intersections between opioids and other issue areas and connect you to funding sources to support your work.

Hear from NLADA on the evidence base that shows legal aid works and is an essential partner in addressing the opioid crisis. We will also hear from the Justice in Government Project (run by former LAIR Executive Director, Karen Lash) on how you can advance your work with federal funding.

In the webinar, we referenced several NLADA and JGP resources that can assist you in making your case for why legal aid is a necessary partner in addressing the opioid crisis. Here a list of those resources:

• Read Casey Chiappetta (NLADA) and Karen Lash’s (Justice in Government Project) article on how civil legal aid is a partner in combatting the opioid crisis and funding sources that can advance your work
• Read a co-branded NLADA and Justice in Government Project factsheet on civil legal aid and opioids and four profiles of legal aid organizations currently doing work around opioids.
• JGP and NLADA fact sheet on opioids and civil legal aid: https://www.american.edu/spa/jpo/upload/opioid-fact-sheets.pdf
• Legal Aid Research (database of research on legal aid): https://legalaidresearch.org/
• JGP research briefs on civil legal aid: https://www.american.edu/spa/jpo/toolkit/module-1.cfm
• JGP and NLADA grants forecasting guide (how to plan for grants that haven’t been announced yet): https://www.american.edu/spa/jpo/toolkit/forecasting-guide.cfm
• Legal Aid Resources (sign up for email alerts when a new grant that can support legal aid is posted): https://legalaidresources.org/
• JGP grants matrix with an overview of federal pass-through/block grants: https://www.american.edu/spa/jpo/toolkit/module-2.cfm
• Outside of the grants covered, we also wanted to highlight one more – Legal Assistance Enhancement Program. In the awards announced on September 23, 2019, it was announced that SeniorLAW Center, and its partners in the aging network and legal community, will respond to the opioid crisis by enhancing legal assistance and access to justice for older Pennsylvanians raising grandchildren and intergenerational families.