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.
Among the recipients is The Bridge Club of Greater Lowell, which was established in 2018 to create a nurturing space for individuals in recovery and offer them a path to recovery. While the Governor’s press release did not announce the specific amount awarded, Executive Director Bob Cox tells InsideLowell the organization received $332,500.
“It’s quite an honor for the Bridge Club to be one of 18 recipients of the Mosaic Opioid Recovery Partnership program grant,” said Cox. “It highlights the constant battle against opioid addiction and overdose, and the dedicated staff that fight that battle every day. Thank God that organizations like RIZE understand it can’t be done by hard work alone. It required support through funding.”
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.”
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.
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.
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.
