“This week, Massachusetts state public health officials will host two listening sessions to solicit input on the state’s use of opioid settlement funds from residents in Berkshire and Hampshire counties who have been directly impacted by the opioid crisis.”
That news came in on Tuesday from the Executive Office of Health and Human Services and the Department of Public Health’s Bureau of Substance Addiction Services. It’s a better late than never sort of situation.
Massachusetts has been disbursing opioid remediation funds for five years—some directly through state coffers, with other streams flowing through cities and towns. As our reporting thus far has shown, that spending has only recently seen substantial increases at the state level (through the designated Massachusetts Opioid Recovery and Remediation Fund), while municipalities are still sitting on millions.
As local governments have contemplated how to use this money, some have increased spending. Records obtained by BINJ show that of the $113.7 million disbursed to municipalities between 2023 and 2025, cities and towns collectively spent $19.8 million, or about 17%.
We’re continuing our coverage on this front, spanning where funds are being spent to where they aren’t. [Click here to see BINJ Ed Director Chris Faraone’s presentation on the project at the IRE & NICAR conference in Indianapolis last week.] This week, reporter Jonathan Gerhardson, who has done the bulk of the reporting for these articles, planned on covering one of the two events planned for Western Mass, but was told the following by the City of Northampton director of prevention:
“Thank you for your interest. I wanted to clarify that the meeting at 12:00 p.m. at Northampton City Hall is a working session for a group of invited community partners and providers. The format is designed to allow for open and candid dialogue among those stakeholders. For that reason, it is not open to the media and we are not sharing a Zoom link with the public.”
More information below:
Berkshire County (in-person only):
- Who: [ORRF] in partnership with the Berkshire Overdose & Addiction Prevention Collaborative.
- What: Massachusetts Statewide Opioid Settlements Berkshire County Listening Session
- When: 1-3 p.m., Thursday, March 12, 2026
- Where: Living in Recovery Center, 75 North Street, Pittsfield, MA
Hampshire County (in-person and virtual):
- Who: The Executive Office of Health and Human Services and the Department of Public Health’s Bureau of Substance Addiction Services, in partnership with the Northampton Department of Health and Human Services, Drug Addiction Recovery Team (DART), Hampshire Hope, Northampton Recovery Center, and Tapestry Health Systems.
- What: Massachusetts Statewide Opioid Settlements Hampshire County Listening Session
- When: 12-1:30 p.m., Friday, March 13, 2026
- Where: Northampton City Hall, 2nd Floor Hearing Room, 210 Main St., Northampton, MA
- Livestream available: For Zoom link, email: HampshireHOPE@northamptonma.gov
“The presentations will include a brief history of the opioid settlements and the State Subdivision Agreement. This will be followed by a public comment period for community members to share their input on how settlement funds can be invested in the future to address existing needs.
“Findings from these and upcoming community listening sessions will culminate in a statewide report that will identify shared themes across regions, along with recommendations for future priorities and activities to be funded based on these themes.”
Read all BINJ reporting on opioid settlement funds here.
