ALBANY, NY (Erie News Now)--WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO HELP THE LIVING? IS A QUESTION MANY ADVOCATES ASKED AT THE RECENT OPIOID SETTLEMENT FUND ADVISORY BOARD MEETING.   

THIS YEAR ALONE THE STATE HAS DISTRIBUTED MORE THAN $146 MILLION OF THE SETTLEMENT FUND TO ADDRESS A VARIETY OF AREAS INCLUDING PREVENTION AND HARM REDUCTION. 
 
BUT AS MANY ADVOCATES CONTINUE TO WATCH PEOPLE STRUGGLE THROUGH THIS CRISIS, THEY QUESTION THE IMPLEMENTATION PROCESS OF SOME OF THE STATES SPENDING.  
 
“I submitted as an exercise as a citizen, I submitted and requested the fentanyl test strips and xylazine test strips—it took them six months for them to get to my door. People are going to die in the meantime. If this is a service that was intended to save New Yorkers, they’re failing miserably,” said Alexis Pleus, Founder of Truth Pharm.
 
BETWEEN THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND THE OFFICE OF ADDICTION SERVICES AND SUPPORTS OR OASAS, OVER 16 MILLION nalaxone TREATMENT AND DRUG TESTING KITS FOR XYLAZINE, and FENTANYL HAVE BEEN DISTRIBUTED THROUGHOUT THE STATE.  
 
OASAS COMMISSIONER CHINAZO CUNNINGHAM SAid DELAYS OF DISTRIBUTION IS SOMETHING THE STATE agency IS WORKING ON. 
 
 SHE SAid SHE THINKS THIS IS PARTIALLY DUE TO HIGH DEMAND.  
 
 “We’re constantly monitoring the amount of time that it takes and making sure that we’re problem solving if there are delays that we’re seeing that and addressing that. So, we’ve made some changes in our process, and I think that going forward we’re not going to have any problems with delays,” said Cunningham. 
 
THE COMMISSIONER STRESSEd THEY ARE CONSTANTLY WORKING ON IMPROVING THE TRANSPARENCY OF THEIR SPENDING PROCESS—CURRENTLY NEW YORKERS CAN FIND OUT MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE SETTLEMENT VIA A TRACKER ON THE OASAS website.