Northampton distributes first round of opioid settlement mini grants

NORTHAMPTON — The city has announced the first round of awards from its Opioid Settlement Fund mini-grants program, distributing more than half of the $120,000 committed to the program across six proposals. The grants support organizations serving residents directly affected by opioid use and addiction across the continuum of care: harm reduction, prevention, treatment, and recovery.

The program, announced in the spring, makes opioid settlement funding available to local organizations and community-based initiatives. Taylor McDonough, Director of Prevention for the Department of Health and Human Services, said the aim was to make settlement dollars more accessible to organizations working directly with affected people and families. "These organizations are doing important work in our community every day, and the settlement funding gives us an opportunity to strengthen and expand that work," McDonough said.

The six funded proposals are HRH413, a grassroots harm reduction organization; Health Care Resource Centers Northampton, an opioid treatment provider; Independent Housing Solutions, which builds affordable housing for chronically homeless individuals; New Beginnings, a Cooley Dickinson Hospital initiative supporting pregnant and postpartum individuals with substance use disorder; the Northampton Survival Center in partnership with the Northampton Recovery Center, addressing opioid challenges through food security and overdose prevention; and Tapestry Health, supporting a peer harm reduction education project.

McDonough said the funding approach deliberately spans multiple points of intervention. "There is no single solution to the opioid crisis," she said. "Spreading the funding across the continuum allows us to address multiple needs at the same time and recognizes that organizations have established relationships with the people most affected."

The city gathered input from over 120 individuals with lived and living experience of substance use and recovery through a shared effort between the Hampshire HOPE Coalition and Tapestry Health last year. McDonough said top priorities identified included protecting access to harm reduction tools, support for pregnant individuals and new parents, bolstering peer outreach, and addressing stigma and privacy concerns in medical treatment.

Northampton DHHS continues accepting applications from eligible organizations on a rolling basis while funding remains available. Full program details and application materials are available at northamptonma.gov/2736/Opioid-Settlement-Fund-Mini-Grants. McDonough can be contacted at tmcdonough@northamptonma.gov for questions or technical assistance.