Tell us: How would opioid overdose funding help you and your family?
A newly launched fund using settlement money from opioid companies aims to help financially support Boston families who have lost a loved one to opioid overdose.
Boston families who have lost a loved one to opioid overdose will be eligible for direct financial support from the city thanks to a newly launched fund supported by state settlement money from opioid companies.
“The grief and trauma of losing a loved one to overdose has a lasting impact on our communities,” Mayor Michelle Wu said in a statement. “This fund will help support our families and our communities by easing the financial burdens that undermine a healthy grieving process.”
The money for the “Family Overdose Support Fund,” unveiled on Friday, comes from an initial $6 million in funds that is part of Boston’s portion of a statewide settlement with opioid manufacturers.
From July 2021 through December 2022, then-Attorney General Maura Healey announced four settlements that will provide nearly a billion dollars to Massachusetts over the course of 18 years. A portion of those funds gets distributed across the state to cities and towns for prevention, harm reduction, treatment, and recovery.
The Family Overdose Support Fund is set to launch later this year with $250,000. The city also expects to receive more than $1 million each year through 2038.
Dr. Bisola Ojikutu, Commissioner of Public Health and Executive Director of the Boston Public Health Commission, said the fund will help alleviate some of the emotional and financial burden faced by those who have been impacted by the opioid overdose epidemic.
“The opioid epidemic has taken the lives of many loved ones throughout Boston’s communities. Children have lost parents. Parents have lost sons and daughters. Families have suffered an enormous emotional toll and are also shouldering a significant financial burden,” Ojikutu said in a statement.
“The Family Overdose Support Fund will alleviate some of that burden by providing direct financial assistance to support childcare, funeral expenses, and other services to those who have been impacted by this ongoing tragedy,” she added.
We want to know how this funding would impact you. Have you, your family, or loved ones been impacted by the opioid epidemic? If so, how would the funding help you?
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