By Brookelyn Lambright, Megan Garnai, Madelyn Hanes, Avery Lowry, Edie Schwarb, Lauren Stickelmaier, Alayna Wilkening, Arnolt Center, Niki Kelly, Indiana Capital Chronicle, and Cierra Putman, WTHR

In 2015, Austin, Indiana, made national headlines for an HIV outbreak spurred by shared needles and substance abuse. Austin was later the first town to implement Indiana’s needle exchange program, which helped stem the spread of HIV.

When Chris Fugate, Scott County treasurer, learned about the availability of opioid settlement funds, he was hopeful it would be a way to turn the town and its reputation around.

“There’s so many good things about it, but we just have some problems,” Fugate said. “And we were hoping we’d see some money that we could kind of help turn the narrative around and change our image.”

Scott County’s opioid overdose rate is nearly double the state’s. In 2014, Austin saw an HIV outbreak fueled by shared needles and substance abuse.

But the state’s funds have not been nearly enough to tackle the epidemic that reshaped Scott County. 

In 2014, it was reported that Scott County had 88.4 overdoses per 100,000 people. 

In 2023, the School of Public Health at Indiana University-Bloomington found that Scott County’s rate of opioid deaths was 44.6 per 100,000 people. Scott County’s rates of overdose remain high, nearly double the state’s.

Fugate said the money doesn’t go far when dealing with something that’s taken over so much of the town.

“For all the, you know, being the one that kind of was on all the news stations, we’ve probably received less than $50,000,” Fugate said.

But others question if Scott County misused available funds. 

Phil Stucky is the CEO of Thrive, a nonprofit that works in 17 counties across Indiana to deliver free community-based peer coaching for those with substance use disorders and mental health challenges. He said Scott County has used settlement funds to buy a new ambulance, fund the creation of a new county website, repair the roof of a local firehouse and build a park. 

Funding the creation of a new county website was discussed at the Scott County Commissioners meeting in June 2025. While the board states that unrestricted settlement funds should support programs related to opioid addiction, they are aware that unrestricted funds have been used for unrelated purposes in the past. 

Attorney for the Scott County Board of Commissioners, Zachary Stewart, said in relation to using the unrestricted funds on non-opioid related expenses, “We’ve used it that way before.” 

“Unrestricted wasn’t meant to be used for whatever you want,” Stucky said. “It was truly meant to think: what are some programs we’ve always wanted, or something new or different to get people involved?” 

In 2023, Thrive received $459,297 from Scott County’s settlement funds. 

Stucky said he has not seen any accountability from the state to ensure Scott County spends its opioid settlement funds on interventions that support those with substance use disorder. 

Thrive CEO Phil Stucky reviewed a list of misspent settlement money. He was dismayed to see items like parking ticket books and rifle suppressors.

In Scott County, where there continue to be high numbers of substance use disorder even 11 years after the initial outbreak, he said funding for programs that directly address these issues is needed. 

“It’s the marginalized people that it’s hurting the most; we still have such a high number of unhoused people in Scott County,” Stucky said. “We still have a lot of unhoused people that we still see suffering and needing some assistance. But with funding being as scarce as, these nonprofits are just doing the best they can to stay afloat.”

While Austin was the first town to implement the needle exchange program in Indiana, the county commissioners voted in 2021 not to renew the syringe program. As a result, it’s difficult to have accurate information on how many people in the county are still struggling with opioid use.

“People aren’t coming in to get tested,” Stucky said. “People aren’t coming in to get their syringes. Some people thought it was supposedly helping the opioid use, but that’s not what a syringe service is for. It’s to help cut down on infectious diseases like HIV and Hep C, and it did all that. It did everything it was set up to do. It was a great model.” 

Scott County’s problem, Stucky said, lies with politicians who are not funding necessary programming to deal with the county’s decade-long struggle with opioid use. 

“You know, they’re trying to find ways to take care of their county,” Stucky said. “That’s understandable. But unfortunately, it’s coming at a cost of good programming that’s not getting taken care of. Just because they’re trying to take care of their first concern, which is their county budget.”

This story was written by journalists at the Arnolt Center for Investigative Journalism at Indiana University in partnership with the Indiana Capital Chronicle and WTHR. Brookelyn Lambright, Megan Garnai, Madelyn Hanes, Avery Lowry, Edie Schwarb, Lauren Stickelmaier, Alayna Wilkening are students with the Arnolt Center.