Opioid Settlement Funds

Opioid Settlement Funds

Massachusetts has participated in nationwide financial settlements with several companies as part of the historic efforts to demand abatement of the harms caused by the opioid epidemic. These settlements bring over $900 million into Massachusetts for substance use prevention, harm reduction, treatment, and recovery support. Forty percent of the Massachusetts funds are allocated to municipalities, while 60% are allocated to the statewide Opioid Recovery and Remediation Fund some of which has been awarded to municipalities for grant making.

The City of Gloucester is receiving less than half of one percent (0.42%) of $360 million allocated to municipalities by the state-- or a little over $100,000 a year for the next 16 years. The remaining 60% of the total settlement dollars will be allocated by the Commonwealth through a grantmaking process overseen by the Opioid Recovery and Remediation Task Force. Municipal Opioid Abatement Funds Data Dashboard

The Town of Ipswich and Town of Rockport joined Gloucester to form the Gloucester • Ipswich • Rockport • Opioid Abatement Collaboration. By committing our combined funding of $150,000 this year with a matching grant from Mosaic, we aim to connect treatment and recovery services for residents seeking care for OUD in all three communities.

How Will the Funds be Allocated?

The state wants us to spend the money in four categories and follow specific guidelines. 

Municipalities will receive direct allocations from settlement funds, allowing mayors and local officials to decide on the best use of these resources to meet local needs. However, they must ensure that their initiatives align with the broader goals outlined by the state guidelines.

The Gloucester Health Department and the Community Impact Unit collaborated to provide recommendations for the Mayor’s final decisions on opioid allocation funding. Together, we've developed an agnostic framework that enables us to evaluate any request based on state established criteria. Next we worked to understand the needs of the community:

1. Needs Assessment: Beginning in March of 2024, the Health Department analyzed local and state data and conducted interviews with 28 leaders from 24 organizations, gathering 632 unique responses.

2. Community Survey: Deployed in July of 2024, available in multiple languages, receiving 200 responses on how to best spend the abatement funds.

Implementation Timeline