Three Central Mass. nonprofits granted slice of $3.8M to fight opioid impacts
Photo | Flickr | K-State Research and Extension
Prescription opioids
Three Worcester nonprofits have been named among the first recipient cohort of Massachusetts’ new grantmaking program Mosaic Opioid Recovery Partnership, an initiative providing funding to grassroots organizations working to reduce harm caused by the ongoing opioid epidemic within communities disproportionately affected and historically underserved.
Of the 18 total grant awardees, AIDS Project Worcester, Uhai for Health, and Safe Exit Initiative were the three Central Massachusetts beneficiaries receiving between $16,000 to $150,000 annually over a three-year period. The awarded funds will be used to boost the organizations’ efforts in prevention, harm-reduction, connections to care, recovery supports, trauma, grief, and family supports, according to a Wednesday press release from the Massachusetts Executive Office of Health and Human Services. Total funding statewide was $3.75 million.
The Mosaic grants are a collaborative initiative between the Massachusetts Department of Public Health’s Bureau of Substance Addiction Services and the Boston-based nonprofit RIZE Massachusetts developed in an effort to boost the equitable distribution of the state’s Opioid Recovery and Remediation Fund, a fund used to help mitigate the impacts of the opioid epidemic throughout the state, according to the fund’s website. The program will provide two additional rounds of grant funding in this fiscal year ending on June 30 as part of its commitment to dedicate $5 million in annual funding to organizations over the next 18 years.
Safe Exit Initiative in Worcester received a total of $380,000 in Mosaic funding. Providing direct services and crisis intervention to those exploited by the sex trade, SEI’s grant comes as the organization has received a $300,000 grant for its pro bono legal clinic, The Advocacy Project, from Texas-based philanthropic organization The Jensen Project.
"We are incredibly grateful to The Jensen Project for their commitment to our work," Courtney Ross Escobar, co-executive director and chief operations officer, said in a Thursday press release from SEI. "This grant will enable us to provide vital legal assistance to those who need it most, break cycles of exploitation, and rebuild lives."
AIDS Project Worcester received $400,000 in funding and Uhai for Health received $125,000.
“Our efforts are focused on reducing barriers to access in communities and among populations hardest hit by substance use disorder and overdose deaths,” DPH Commissioner Robbie Goldstein said in the EOHHS release. “Those working at the grassroots level, who know their communities best, need this support to provide culturally responsive services for those struggling with addiction and families that have suffered devastating losses to overdose.”
Mica Kanner-Mascolo is a staff writer at Worcester Business Journal, who primarily covers the healthcare and diversity, equity, and inclusion industries.
EDITOR'S NOTE: This article has been updated to include the award amounts for AIDS Project Worcester and Uhai for Health.
WBJ Web Partners
Most Recent
Most Recent
0 Comments