Awards

2025 Microgrant Reporting

Journalists in Kentucky, Maine, New Jersey, and New York are covering the opioid settlements from all angles

Since the opioid settlement money started flowing into communities, Reporting on Addiction has been providing technical assistance to journalists investigating this money. Journalists across the county have done a ton to explain and expose problems with opioid settlement spending, as well as highlight good uses of this money. This work is essential. It's also incredibly difficult.

Because the governments haven't always been very transparent with this money, journalists have had to use their full toolbox to do this reporting. Some journalists have FOIA'ed dozens of counties and cities to produce a full accounting of how the money has been spent (or not spent!). Others regularly attend advisory board meetings. Some just do the good old-fashioned showing up with a microphone and asking questions. All of this behind-the-scenes work is in service to the people impacted by the opioid crisis. It comes from a recognition that this money is an opportunity to build durable solutions in our communities so that the pain caused by the opioid crisis isn't felt by others and people have an opportunity to live healthy, full lives.

This money could do this...or it could buy lawnmowers like Adam found in Buffalo. Or it could operate like a slush fund with little transparency or accountability for how it is spent, like Emily found in Maine. Or buckets of it could be given to a few hospitals after a middle-of-the-night backroom deal that was well outside the agreed-upon spending plan, as Taylor found in New Jersey. Or it could sit, largely unspent, in a community disproportionately impacted by the crisis, as Allyson found in Kentucky.

We encourage you to read their stories and learn more about how money is being spent in your community.

Support Our Work

2025 RoA Opioid Settlement Microgrants Recipients

Emily Bader, The Maine Monitor, Maine

Emily Bader is a health care reporter for The Maine Monitor where she covers substance use, mental health and access to care. She is passionate about combining data and human voices to tell powerful stories about how these issues affect Mainers’ everyday lives, how communities are seeking solutions and in serving as a watchdog on decision-makers. In 2024, she was a Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation Health Coverage Fellow and a Reporting on Addiction grantee.

Prior to joining The Monitor in 2023, Emily was a reporter for three years at Maine papers covering health care and local news. She was a USC Center for Health Journalism Data Fellow in 2021, the same year she was named best young journalist by the Maine Press Association.

Emily's Reporting on Addiction Microgrant Stories

All The Maine Monitor's Opioid Coverage:
https://themainemonitor.org/opioids/

Allyson Dix, Freelance, Kentucky

Allyson began her journalism career in 2018 as a freelance reporter, driven by a passion for community storytelling and accountability reporting. Previously, she was managing editor of the Barren County Progress, where she oversaw editorial content and reported on key local issues.

Over the past two years, Allyson has earned multiple awards from the Kentucky Press Association (KPA), including a second-place honor for investigative reporting. That story traced the roots of a local county government’s non-compliance with FEMA regulations — an in-depth piece that highlighted her ability to connect complex details and deep dive into the complexities of intergovernmental accountability.

Although her academic background isn’t rooted in journalism, Allyson holds a bachelor’s degree in Human Services and Counseling, which has contributed to her strong research and communication skills. Her work reflects a deep belief in the role of local journalism to inform the public, expose wrongdoing, and strengthen the communities it serves.

Allyson's Reporting on Addiction Microgrant Story

Taylor Jung, New Jersey Urban News, New Jersey

Taylor Jung is an independent multimedia journalist focused on illuminating critical socioeconomic issues and fostering connections with the communities she covers.

She was the social justice reporter for NJ Spotlight News from 2021 to 2025, where she covered civil rights, criminal justice, immigration, and politics. Her previous reporting can also be found in the New Jersey Monitor and on WNYC airwaves.

She is a Columbia Journalism School graduate and a proud member of the Asian American Journalists Association.

Taylor's Reporting on Addiction Microgrant Stories

Adam Smith-Perez, Investigative Post, New York

Adam Smith-Perez is an investigative journalist and audio producer. He is currently the urban affairs and criminal justice reporter at Investigative Post, a nonprofit watchdog newsroom in Buffalo, NY. He is also a Report for America corps member. Adam has covered overdose prevention centers in New York City for The Nation, Hepatitis C and the overdose crisis for VICE News, and most recently, the millions of opioid settlement funds unspent by the City of Buffalo for Investigative Post. He has also fact-checked features, investigations, and essays for The Nation, Mother Jones and The Food & Environment Reporting Network, and produces Jeet Heer's podcast, The Time of Monsters, for The Nation.

Adam has a Master of Science degree from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism, where he received Honors distinction in reporting. He is also a member of the Association of Health Care Journalists and the National Association for Hispanic Journalists.

Adam's Reporting on Addiction Microgrant Stories

At Reporting on Addiction, we are committed to supporting journalists exploring all aspects of drug use and addiction through reporting that reduces stigma in their communities. We are excited to support these journalists through these microgrants and are grateful to people like you who believe in Reporting on Addiction’s mission.