From Settlement to Support: What the Purdue Pharma Agreement Means for Community Healing

This week’s national news surrounding the Purdue Pharma settlement has stirred powerful emotions across the country. For many, the opioid crisis is not a headline — it is lived experience. It is family. It is loss. It is resilience. And for organizations like 2 End The Stigma, it is a reminder of why our work is not only necessary, but urgent.

Purdue Pharma and the Sackler family have reached a multibillion-dollar agreement with states and territories after years of legal battles over their role in fueling the opioid epidemic. The settlement, valued at up to $7.4 billion, will direct funding to state and local governments, as well as individual victims affected by opioid-related harm.

For us, this moment is deeply personal.

Cichowicz, whose advocacy has been central to this fight, traveled to New York to participate in the negotiations on behalf of 2 End The Stigma. She was in the room as this historic decision was reached.

“This is a monumental day,” she told 8News. “I just landed in Richmond. I have tears streaming down my face.”

Her words reflect what so many in our community feel — not just relief, but the weight of years of struggle, advocacy, and lived experience.

But while accountability matters, financial compensation alone cannot repair the depth of the harm. It cannot rewrite the years of stigma, shame, and silence that individuals with substance use disorder have endured. It cannot bring back the loved ones we have lost. And it cannot erase the fact that many communities still lack accessible, culturally competent resources needed for people to heal.

This settlement is a milestone — but it is not the finish line.

At 2 End The Stigma, we believe real change begins when communities choose compassion over judgment and understanding over misconceptions. The funding from this settlement offers an opportunity. What we do with it determines whether meaningful transformation truly happens.

We must continue to educate communities about substance use disorder as a health condition, not a moral failing. We must strengthen recovery-friendly environments where individuals feel safe seeking help without fear of being judged, dismissed, or misunderstood. We must push for expanded resources that support individuals and families throughout every stage of their journey — not just in crisis moments.

And most importantly, we must uplift the voices of those with lived experience. Their stories break isolation. Their truth dismantles stigma. Their courage fuels recovery-centered communities where people feel seen, valued, and supported.

The Purdue settlement brings closure to a long legal chapter, but the work of healing continues. As an organization rooted in advocacy, education, and partnership, 2 End The Stigma remains committed to ensuring that progress is not just written in court documents — but lived in homes, schools, workplaces, and neighborhoods across Virginia and beyond.

Together, we can turn this moment into momentum. Together, we can build a future where every individual impacted by substance use disorder has access to dignity, support, and hope.

Because ending the stigma isn’t just our mission — it is our responsibility.

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