By Adam Swift
This week, the Healey-Driscoll Administration announced $1.5 million in matching grants to 30 municipalities and community-based organizations in areas disproportionately impacted by the overdose crisis. Winthrop will be taking advantage of $50,000 of those funds.
These grants are the second round of funding announced through the Mosaic Opioid Recovery Partnership (Mosaic), a collaboration developed in 2024 between the Massachusetts 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.
“Winthrop has received $50,000 from the State Opioid Mitigation Fund and we are matching with $50,000 of local Opioid Mitigation funds,” said Winthrop Director of Public Health and Clinical Services Meredith Hurley. “The combined $100,000 will be used for a 9-month project aimed at continuing youth prevention work while also addressing the needs of those impacted by opioid use through trauma-informed initiatives. Project A.N.C.H.O.R. (Assistance, Navigation, Community Healing, Opportunity, and Recovery) will be piloted under the Winthrop C.L.E.A.R. Program to step outside of our traditional individual response and encompass more children, families, and systems that have impacted as well.”
Hurley said the town and her department are exploring how to integrate more resilience-focused programming through yoga, meditation, art therapy, highlighted speaker series, and movement. “We also are very interested in hearing from people in our community who have experienced the impacts of opioids on their lives or the lives of a loved one as to what kinds of additional assistance and supports would be useful,” she said. “We also are setting up a framework to assist with the social burdens that may have arisen for some individuals and families, such as job training, mental health services, grief therapy, legal navigation.”
RIZE will conduct two additional Municipal Matching Grant rounds through 2027, awarding a total of $4 million in matching grants over the program’s three years.
The Opioid Recovery and Remediation Fund (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.
“The Mosaic Municipal Matching Grant program exemplifies our commitment to a collaborative and compassionate approach in addressing the overdose crisis. By empowering local municipalities and community-based organizations, we are fostering innovative solutions that meet individuals where they are,” said Undersecretary of Health Kiame Mahaniah, MD. “This funding not only supports essential services but also strengthens our collective resolve to create safer, healthier communities for everyone, with a particular focus on those affected by the opioid epidemic.”
Communities had the option of applying for funding directly, partnered with a nonprofit organization, or by collaborating and pooling funding with other municipalities. The 30 one-year grants range from $5,000 to $150,000 and will fund initiatives focusing on at least one of the following areas: prevention, harm reduction, access to care, recovery, trauma, grief, and family supports. Respective municipalities will earmark a matching portion of their previously distributed opioid settlement funds to the proposed initiative. RIZE will provide grantees with technical assistance and learning opportunities tailored to their specific needs to strengthen organizations and develop sustainability.
“These grants represent a vital investment in our communities as we tackle the overdose crisis head-on,” said Deirdre Calvert, Director of DPH’s Bureau of Substance Addiction Services. “Engaging people with lived and living experience in the decision-making process ensures that their insights and perspectives shape the solutions we develop.”