The Great Falls City Commission awarded $2.88 million in funding to projects on Tuesday, December 6th, after a year-long application process.
The funding includes:
- $600,000 - Centene Stadium repairs
- $496,810 - NeighborWorks Great Falls
- $375,000 - Peace Place renovations
- $287,278 - Alliance for Youth
- $228,980 - Ideal Option
- $215,000 - Great Falls Tourism
- $197,350 - Great Falls College MSU
- $97,750 - Opportunities Inc.
- $85,000 - United Way
- $75,000 - YWCA
- $70,894 - Great Falls Scottish Rite Childhood Language Disorders Clinic
- $56,595 -Cascade County Historical Society
- $49,900 - Helping Hands
- $49,000 - Discovery Family Counseling Services
Ideal Option, a provider for low-barrier substance and addiction treatment, was one of the projects chosen to receive funding. The website states:
With over 80 clinics in 10 states, Ideal Option is one of the nation’s largest outpatient providers of evidence-based medication-assisted treatment for addiction to opioids, alcohol, methamphetamine, and other substances. Founded in 2012 by two emergency medicine physicians, Ideal Option’s mission is to provide underserved populations with low-barrier access to evidence-based addiction treatment – saving lives, healing families, and helping communities.
Kimberly Hill, a community outreach manager, said that support from the Great Falls community is a main factor in their growth in Montana.
“To be able to be one of the recipients of this grant is just a huge win for Ideal Option and the community,” she explained.
The money will be used to open a second location in Great Falls to make treatment more accessible in town.
Being a treatment provider in Great Falls since 2016 and providing help to more than 1,700 patients, Kimberly said that this expansion was a long time coming.
“One of the huge barriers that we see is transportation, so having access to locations will be a lot more beneficial to those patients," she said.
A current patient in the program spoke highly about the impact that Ideal Option creates for people who are working on taking their life back from addiction.
She said, “The program changed my life. I was a user for the past 20 years and I haven't touched a needle in the past 24 months since I started the Ideal Option Program. It’s a great feeling to live my life again.”
Kimberly added, “There are still 92% of individuals with substance use in Montana that are not getting treatment.”
She hopes a new location in Great Falls will help aid in the fight against substance abuse, and help people get the help they need.
For more information, visit the Ideal Option website.
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