Massachusetts Could Get Almost $60 million in Opioid Funding to Fight Overdose Crisis

BOSTON — The Bay State could get nearly $60 million in new opioid funding from the Biden administration to fight the unrelenting drug overdose crisis.

Massachusetts will have the chance to apply for up to $59.5 million in State Opioid Response (SOR) funding in fiscal year 2024, according to the federal Department of Health and Human Services.

This potential funding to fight the opioid crisis comes as drug deaths remain elevated in the Bay State, where thousands of people die a year from overdoses.

The State Opioid Response funding supports evidence-based practices that address the overdose crisis, the feds said. That includes prevention, harm reduction, treatment, Narcan and other opioid overdose reversal medications, and recovery support.

“State and Tribal Opioid Response grants provide essential support in the fight against the overdose crisis,” said HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra, who noted that progress has been made in recent years.

“But we still know there’s a lot to do,” he said.

Overall, the Biden admin was announcing a historic amount of available funding to fight the opioid epidemic: $1.5 billion.

From 2018 to 2023, SOR recipients have reported: More than 550,000 overdose reversals; about 9.8 million Narcan kits and 7 million fentanyl test strips were distributed; and more than 1.2 million people received treatment services. At their 6-month follow-up, 78% of people who received treatment through SOR reported they did not use illicit drugs.

Massachusetts reported a record 2,359 opioid-related overdose deaths in all of 2022.

Then last year, DPH reported that there were 2,323 confirmed and estimated opioid-related overdose deaths between Oct. 1, 2022, and Sept. 30, 2023.

DPH last year found that overdose prevention centers in the Bay State would help cut down on the number of local opioid overdoses and deaths.

Thursday’s announcement from the Biden administration comes a day after Boston Mayor Michelle Wu and the Boston Public Health Commission announced $1 million in grant funding available for community-based organizations that work to prevent overdose deaths and provide substance use treatment.

“Too many families have lost loved ones to the opioid epidemic here in Boston,” Wu said in a statement. “This funding will help neighborhood-based organizations save lives by preventing overdoses and helping residents access treatment. I want to thank the community organizations who are saving lives every day and our state and city partners who are fighting to end this epidemic.”

The Community Overdose Response Grants are a one-time fund of $1 million and are the second use of Boston’s opioid remediation funding. These funds will support community-based organizations across the city to increase access to Narcan, a life-saving medication that can reverse an opioid overdose, and to distribute and train Boston residents to use Narcan.

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