Framing the Problem

“The fact that strikes me the most is that between 1999 and 2021 there have been about a million deaths from drug poisonings. If you were to total the  number of US soldiers that have died in all military conflicts since the Revolutionary War, it’s about the same number.  It’s on the scale of armed conflict that our country has faced in its 200 year history.”

How do we begin to understand the impact of the opioid epidemic? An understanding about the problems the epidemic created, the challenges state and local governments might face as they attempt to address these problems, and the importance of generating evidence are all essential to any chance of successful healing for families and communities. Bill Evans, Keough-Hesburgh Professor of Economics and co-founder of the Wilson-Sheehan Lab for Economic Opportunities at Notre Dame, dives into the history and context of the opioid epidemic.

This discussion took place at the University of Notre Dame’s Summit on the Opioids Settlement: A Pathway to Hope which focused on how to most effectively distribute the nearly $50 billion in settlement dollars to maximize the impact on our communities and citizens.

Held in August 2024, this summit brought together attorneys general from across the country to discuss best practices to proactively evaluate the efficacy of opioid abatement programs and develop strategies to best distribute the funds. Led by the University of Notre Dame’s Poverty Initiative, the summit explores how evidence-based practices can inform decision making and ensure that the Opioids Settlement best helps those victims it is meant to serve.

Speaker:

• Bill Evans, Keough-Hesburgh Professor of Economics and co-founder of the Wilson-Sheehan Lab for Economic Opportunities