ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10)– For the first time this year, the Opioid Settlement Fund Advisory Board held a meeting.

The meeting began with a moment of silence in honor of Black Balloon Day— a day to remember those who died from an overdose. The board is working with $120.8 million to address addiction and opioid use in communities across the state.

During the meeting, a public comment period took place. Some called for more overdose prevention centers and more funding for community based organizations. Among them was Alexis Pleus of Truth Pharm, an organization based in Binghamton.

“Our organization functioned on a budget last year of $350,000. The funding that we need, half of [one] million dollars, would go a really long way to empowering us to provide the services that we need to provide as a safety net provider in our community,” explained Pleus.

She said her organization provides transportation to treatment and helps people with food and housing after they come out of treatment.

“A lot of the state officials were saying they are going to reach out and try to find all the community based organizations and start to put requests for proposals out that we can obtain that funding,” said Pleus.

The next meeting is tentatively set for May 15th.