Boston Opioid Settlements
The City of Boston has received settlement money from opioid companies. We will incrementally receive at least $37.5 million through 2038.
Background
Funding Specifics
As of September 2024, Boston has received $10,936,964.96. The City also expects to receive more than $1 million each year through 2038.
How the Funding Will Be Spent
The dollars should go towards people impacted by the opioid epidemic. These municipal funds can only support the strategies specified by the State of Massachusetts. These include treatment, harm reduction, recovery, and prevention. The funding is limited and cannot sustain large projects.
How boston is engaging the public
The Boston Public Health Commission (BPHC) decided to allow those impacted by overdose to inform how the funds should be spent. BPHC started an equity-focused community engagement process in the summer of 2023 and will continue to get feedback from residents and organizations who have been most affected by the opioid epidemic, including:
- families
- people with opioid use disorder, and
- service providers.
Learn more about opioid remediation and the settlements from the State website.
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Questions? Contact:
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Visit the Recovery Services website to learn more about substance use and harm reduction services provided by the Boston Public Health Commission.
Community Engagement Report
Community Engagement ReportTimeline
September 2024
Boston Public Health Commission awarded Bridge Over Troubled Waters, Community Caring Clinic, Harvard Neighborhood Health Center, Metro Boston Alive, and Torchlight Recovery $1 million in grant funding to prevent overdose deaths and provide substance use treatment in neighborhoods seeing the highest overdose rates.
The deadline for the Request for Proposals for the Family Overdose Support Fund is September 27. An administrator will be announced in October, and the program aims to launch by the end of 2024.
May 2024
Boston Public Health Commission announced $1 million in grant funding for community-based organizations to prevent overdose deaths and provide substance use treatment in neighborhoods seeing the highest overdose rates, with a focus on serving Black and Latinx communities that are at increased risk. The Community Overdose Response Grants are a one-time fund and the second use of Boston’s opioid remediation funding.
January 2024
Boston Public Health Commission (BPHC) and the City of Boston published the Boston Opioid Settlement Community Engagement Report and announced Boston’s first use of remediation funding, decided after an extensive community engagement process that allowed residents to inform how the funds should be spent. The Family Overdose Support Fund will launch later this year as an annual fund that will provide financial support to Boston families who lost a loved one to opioid overdose.
JuNE - September 2023
BPHC partnered with community organizations to hold listening sessions across Boston to collect community input about how the opioid settlement funds should be spent. Partner organizations and listening session attendees include the Massachusetts Organization for Addiction Recovery, the Bureau of Substance Addiction Services, Nubian Square Task Force, Metro Boston Alive, Garrison Trotter Neighborhood Association, STEPRox, Recovery on the Harbor, St. Francis House, Fenway Communicate and Connect, Allston-Brighton PAUSES, East Boston Alliance, Zumix, Project Right, North Suffolk Mental Health, Louis D. Brown Peace Institute, Learn to Cope, and The Sun Will Rise.
May 2023
BPHC released a community engagement survey, available in eight languages (Cabo Verdean Creole, Chinese, English, Haitian Creole, Portuguese, Somali, Spanish, and Vietnamese). BPHC also issued a Request for Information, giving constituents an opportunity to submit up to 2.5 pages of input.
July 2022
Boston received its first payment from the state's opioid settlements.
July 2021
The State announced its first settlement from opioid distributors. Funds will be distributed across the Commonwealth to cities and towns for prevention, harm reduction, treatment, and recovery.
News
News
Who's Involved:
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Questions? Contact:
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Visit the Recovery Services website to learn more about substance use and harm reduction services provided by the Boston Public Health Commission.
