Healey-Driscoll Administration Awards $3.75 Million to 18 Grassroots Organizations to Address the Opioid Crisis
Awards are part of first-of-its-kind partnership to allow small, community-based organizations and municipalities to apply for statewide opioid settlement funds
Boston — The Healey-Driscoll Administration today
announced $3.75 million in grants to 18 grassroots organizations to reduce the
harms caused by the opioid epidemic in communities disproportionately impacted
by overdose deaths. The grants are the first to be awarded through the Mosaic Opioid Recovery Partnership (Mosaic), a new
grantmaking program designed to support communities and populations that have
been historically underserved and have experienced a high rate of
opioid-related overdose deaths.
Mosaic was developed earlier in 2024 through a collaboration between the Department of Public Health’s
(DPH) Bureau of Substance Addiction Services and RIZE Massachusetts to increase
the equitable allocation of Opioid Recovery and Remediation Fund (ORRF) grants
to small community-based organizations and municipalities that often face
significant obstacles and barriers to accessing more traditional funding
opportunities.
“Too many Massachusetts families have been devastated by the
impacts of substance use disorder and we have been doing everything in our
power to reduce overdoses and save lives,” said Governor Maura Healey.
“These awards underscore our commitment to equitable access to necessary
resources for prevention, recovery, and treatment programs in communities
disproportionately impacted by the opioid epidemic.”
“These grants ensure that opioid settlement funds are
invested in community organizations that are working at the grassroots level
but face challenges in competing for grant funding,” said Undersecretary of
Health Kiame Mahaniah. “We’re hopeful that these diverse organizations will
now have the ability to build on their substance use disorder programming while
centering the voices of the community they know so well and who have been
directly impacted by the overdose crisis.”
The primary goal of this first round of funding is to help
organizations deepen their impact, bring their work to scale, and build a
strong and sustainable infrastructure to meet the needs of the populations they
serve. Each organization will receive between $16,000 to $150,000 annually over
a three-year period to focus on one or all of the following areas: prevention,
harm-reduction, connections to care, recovery supports, trauma, grief, and
family supports.
“Our efforts are focused on reducing barriers to access in
communities and among populations hardest hit by substance use disorder and
overdose deaths,” said Department of Public Health Commissioner Robbie
Goldstein, MD, PhD. “Those working at the grassroots level, who know their
communities best, need this support to provide culturally responsive services
for those struggling with addiction and families that have suffered devastating
losses to overdose.”
“Opioid settlement funding has created a rare opportunity to provide the people and the communities most impacted by the overdose crisis with the resources to support locally led prevention, treatment, intervention, recovery and harm reduction services,” said Deirdre Calvert, Director of DPH’s Bureau of Substance Addiction Services. “Mosaic will be the bridge that connects our statewide overdose prevention strategy to local efforts.”
“We believe the best ideas come from learning, sharing, and
partnerships. Just like a mosaic is made up of individual materials to create a
complete picture, this partnership brings together the best community-led ideas
and initiatives across the Commonwealth to create a comprehensive response to
the opioid overdose crisis,” said Julie Burns, President and CEO of RIZE.
“This model will ensure that the dollars are invested and remain in the
communities most deeply impacted by the crisis while also fueling
transformative change through grassroots efforts.”
In addition to this first round of funding, there will be
two additional rounds of grantmaking this fiscal year, which ends on June 30,
2025. All rounds of grantmaking will be informed by those with lived experience
and expertise related to the overdose crisis. Overall, the Mosaic grantmaking
program represents a commitment by the Commonwealth to dedicate $5 million
annually over the next 18 years (or 18 percent of the total opioid settlement
funds in the ORRF) toward funding locally led initiatives to address the harms
caused by the opioid epidemic.
First round Mosaic grant program awardees:
- Access
HOPE, Mashpee
- AIDS
Project Worcester, Worcester
- Black
Behavioral Health Network, Springfield
- Camp
Happy Place, Barrington
- Centro
De Ayuda Y Esperanza Latina, Bedford
- Choice
Recovery Coaching Inc., Springfield
- Extreme
Kid, Inc., Springfield
- Fishing
Partnership Health Plan/Fishing Partnership Support Services, New
Bedford
- Hilltown
Youth Recovery Theater, Charlemont
- Harm
Reduction Hedgehogs (HRH413), Northampton
- Safe
Exit Initiative, Worcester
- South
Shore Peer Recovery, Scituate
- The
Commission on the Status of Grandparents Raising Grandchildren of
Massachusetts, Boston
- The
Psychological Center, Lawrence
- The
Sun Will Rise, Braintree
- Torch
Light Recovery, Boston
- Troubled
Waters Inc./Bridge Club of Greater Lowell, Lowell
- Uhai for Health Inc., Worcester
The ORRF was established in 2020 to receive and administer
funds from certain legal settlements relating to allegations brought against
companies in connection with the opioid crisis. Over the next 18 years,
Massachusetts anticipates $1 billion to be received through the settlements and
used for substance use prevention, harm reduction, treatment, and recovery. Of
this funding, 40 percent is allocated for municipalities and 60 percent
directly to the ORRF.
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