Notre Dame to convene federal, state and nonprofit leaders to address national opioid crisis
Across the United States, the opioid epidemic has devastated communities as opioid-related deaths have skyrocketed. According to data from the National Vital Statistics System and the CDC Wonder Database, the opioid death rate rose by 2,473 percent between 1979 and 2022.
To hold drug manufacturers and distributors accountable for the rise in fatalities, states and local political subdivisions brought lawsuits against major pharmaceutical distributors, manufacturers and pharmacy chains, reaching settlements that total nearly $50 billion to date.
The National Opioids Settlement and other settlement agreements have created a sense of hope for families and communities affected by the opioid crisis and provided a profound opportunity for states across the nation to begin to repair the damage the epidemic has wrought.
On Aug. 5-6, the University of Notre Dame will convene A Pathway to Hope: Summit on the National Opioids Settlement to bring together elected officials, academic researchers and other federal, state and nonprofit organization leaders from across the country to discuss and develop evidence-based strategies to most effectively distribute the opioid lawsuit settlement funds. The summit’s presentations will focus on framing the overall opioid crisis, its impact on communities and families, and potential solutions backed by evidence. The goal is to find ways to maximize the funds’ impact on the families and communities affected by the opioid crisis.
Led by Notre Dame’s Poverty Initiative, the summit will explore how evidence-based practices can inform decisions and ensure that settlement funds best help the victims.
“A primary goal of the Poverty Initiative, which launched last fall, is to bring faculty together with policymakers, philanthropists and providers to discover new pathways to break the cycle of poverty,” said economics professor Jim Sullivan, who also serves as the director of the Poverty Initiative and the Wilson Sheehan Lab for Economic Opportunities.
“The Pathway to Hope Summit embodies that mission as the University will convene some of the nation’s leading experts to find solutions to the opioid crisis that has afflicted families all across this country.”
Sullivan and his team expect one unique outcome of the summit to be a co-created research agenda led by Notre Dame faculty to work with people on the frontlines to ensure the approaches are accurate, scalable and effective.
The Pathway to Hope Summit is an invitation-only event. More information is available at pathwaytohope.nd.edu.
Contact: Sue Ryan, Executive Director of Media Relations, sue.ryan@nd.edu; 269-377-5983
Tracy DeStazio, Associate Director of Media Relations, tdestazi@nd.edu; 269-769-8804
Brandi Wampler, Associate Director of Media Relations, brandiwampler@nd.edu; 574-248-0428
Latest ND News Wire
- Reasons to serveHistory, West Point, and 9/11 memorial inspire ND ROTC students in New York About two dozen seniors in the Notre Dame Army ROTC program were impressed with the mealtime rituals at the United States Military Academy at West Point: the corps formations…
- Notre Dame faculty, students and administrators reflect on experiences in the Middle EastSeveral distinguished experts from the University of Notre Dame gathered Dec. 4 at the Eck Visitors Center Auditorium to discuss their personal and professional connections to the ongoing conflict in Israel and Palestine. This was the third event in the Israel-Palestine Series of the 2024-25 Notre Dame Forum on “What Do We Owe Each Other?”
- Assistant VP Dennis Brown retiring after three-plus decades at Notre DameDennis Brown, assistant vice president in the Office of Public Affairs and Communications at the University of Notre Dame and its spokesman from 2008 to 2023, will retire at the end of December after a 33-year career at the University.
- Notre Dame Stadium becomes first outdoor university venue to move to Wi-Fi 6E standardWhen nearly 80,000 fans gather for the college football playoff game between the University of Notre Dame and Indiana University on Dec. 20, they will enjoy an improved overall gameday experience, thanks to the implementation of Wi-Fi 6E standard power. Notre Dame Stadium became the first outdoor college venue to implement Wi-Fi 6E this fall. To do so, the University of Notre Dame’s Office of Information Technology partnered with PIER Group to overhaul the stadium’s wireless network.
- Notre Dame surpasses 87 percent for undergraduate study abroad participationThe University of Notre Dame has once again received national recognition for its commitment to internationalization and global education in newly released rankings from the Institute of International Education. For the 2022-23 academic year, study abroad participation among Notre Dame undergraduates increased by more than 10 percentage points from the previous year — from 77 to 87.5 percent, according to new data published in the Open Doors report.
- In memoriam: Frank H. Collins, professor emeritus in the Department of Biological SciencesFrank Hadley Collins, professor emeritus in the College of Science at the University of Notre Dame, died Nov. 16 in Tucson, Arizona. He was 80.