Marilyn Grimes’ phone buzzes with a call from the Monroe County Jail.
It’s business as usual for Grimes’ “baby,” Courage to Change Sober Living, she said.
Grimes, a grandmother recovering from addiction herself, is the executive director of Courage to Change, an organization devoted to providing a sober, structured and affordable environment for former addicts getting their lives back together.
The organization owns six houses across Bloomington, with three for men and three for women. Together, the organization provides housing for around 40 people.
Courage to Change Sober Living is one of several Bloomington businesses which received a Downtown Outreach Grant in 2025. Other businesses include Amethyst House, Beacon Inc., Centerstone, Community Kitchen of Monroe County, Monroe County Humane Association, New Hope for Families, New Leaf New Life and Sojourn House.
The city established this grant using over $3 million from Opioid Settlement Funds in 2025. The purpose of the grant is to support organizations that are serving those impacted by the opioid crisis, Bloomington Communications Director Desiree DeMolina said in an email.
The money from the settlements reached with major pharmaceutical companies provided Indiana with more than $1 billion to be distributed in the next 18 years, with half going to local governments and organizations and half to statewide initiatives, according to the Indiana Office of the Attorney General.
The majority of settlement funds are required to be spent on statewide treatment, education and prevention programs for opioid use disorder as well as related mental health issues. However, 30% of funds are unrestricted and supposed to be used for the benefit of the state. Of the unrestricted funds, 15% goes to state government and 15% to local governments across the state.
“We rely on the infrastructure and expertise of local nonprofits to deliver the day-to-day, person-to-person work that stabilizes people in crisis,” DeMolina wrote. “Without this partner network, sustainable outcomes are simply out of reach, as the city cannot achieve lasting recovery.”
The opioid crisis began in the 1990s when opioids became more regularly prescribed. This led to an increase in abuse and overdosage, according to Northwestern’s Institute for Public Health and Medicine. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services declared it a public health emergency in 2017. In March 2025, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Renewed the status.
In 2023, opioid overdoses contributed to 5,316 emergency department visits, 1,423 hospitalizations and 1,608 deaths in Indiana, according to data from the Indiana Department of Health.
DeMolina wrote Bloomington’s lack of affordable housing intensifies the effects of opioids on the community.
“When addiction intersects with already high housing costs, people can lose stability quickly,” DeMolina wrote.
According to the Indiana Balance of State Continuum of Care 2025 Point-in-Time Count, there were 305 people experiencing homeless in a single night in Monroe County.
To help decrease the amount of lethal overdoses, Monroe County provides free Narcan in the lobby at the Charlotte Zietlow Justice Center. Other locations providing Narcan include the Indiana Recovery Alliance, The Monroe County Health Department and the IU Student Health Center.
Narcan is an injectable drug with the ability to reduce the effects of an opioid overdose, according to the National Institute of Health.
Beacon, a local homeless shelter, used last year’s grant funding primarily to aid family reunification programs like the shelter’s family housing program.
“Opioid use is horrible,” Forrest Gilmore, executive director of Beacon, said. “It's a situation that not only creates a severe addiction for people, but it can kill them if they unexpectedly take more than they believe they were. It's just a great tragedy.”
The Monroe County Syringe Service Program provides sterile needles, syringes and other injection equipment. Locations for this service can be found on its website.
This program began after former Monroe County Health Commissioner Thomas Sharp issued a public health emergency in 2015 relating to rising Hepatitis C cases and hospitalizations for overdoses in Bloomington.
In the future, Grimes hopes to see more community building opportunities in Bloomington for recovering addicts. It’s important to rebuild a support system while recovering, she said.
“We just go over and above on trying to be there to help hold them up and get to the next step,” Grimes said.
Bloomington’s 2026 Downtown Outreach Grant application is open until 5 p.m. March 13 for local organizations fighting the opioid crisis. The application can be accessed using this form.
