Opioid Settlement Funds Information

Opioid Abatement Funds Grant Request: 

Opioid Grant Flyer

Riverside Community Care Recovery Coach Services: 

NC8 Coaching flyer

Recovery Coach services through the NC-8 program are available for anyone that is in recovery or interested in recovery from substance use and lives within the following communities: Dedham, Milton, Norwood, Walpole, and Wellesley. Services are provided with no out of pocket costs, regardless of insurance status.

At Connect2Recovery, we use a person-centered, strengths-based approach that puts the person in recovery in the lead. A Recovery Coach is a peer worker that has personal, first-hand lived experience with substance use recovery and has completed training to encourage, motivate, and support a person on their own substance use recovery journey.

A Recovery Coach can assist individuals to develop a Recovery Wellness Plan consisting of the goals that they wish to achieve in one or more areas of life, such as:

  • Forming community connections
  • Connecting to peer recovery resources like AA, NA, SMART recovery, DRA, and Peer Recovery Support Centers
  • Assist with access to living/financial supports such as SNAP benefits and transitional assistance
  • Connect to health providers and specialists
  • Coordinate with DCF and family supports
  • Support with drug court and probation

Anyone is welcome to refer to this service including the individual seeking services. Questions and completed referral forms can be sent directly to: NC-8@riversidecc.org 

Recovery coach referral form

Behavioral Health Help Line

Timeline of Events

  • 2021
    • On July 21, 2021, AG Healey announced a $26 billion resolution with opioid distributors and Johnson & Johnson, which will provide more than $500 million to the Commonwealth and its cities and towns for prevention, harm reduction, treatment, and recovery across Massachusetts. Funds from these settlements began flowing into Massachusetts in June 2022. (Source: mass.gov) 
  • 2022
    • On November 15, 2022, AG Healey announced a proposed $3 billion nationwide resolution with Walmart, which will provide more than $61 million to the Commonwealth and its cities and towns for prevention, harm reduction, treatment, and recovery across Massachusetts, once finalized. The parties are optimistic that the settlement will gain support of the required 43 states by the end of 2022, allowing local governments to join the resolution during the first quarter of 2023. (Source: mass.gov) 
    • On November 23, 2022, AG Healey announced a proposed $6.6 billion nationwide resolution with drug makers Teva and Allergan, which will provide more than $130 million to the Commonwealth and its cities and towns for prevention, harm reduction, treatment, and recovery across Massachusetts, once finalized. The parties are optimistic that the proposed settlements will gain critical support from attorneys general nationwide, so that local governments have an opportunity to join the resolutions during the first quarter of 2023.  (Source: mass.gov) 
    • On December 12, 2022, AG Healey announced a proposed $10.7 billion nationwide resolution with CVS and Walgreens, which will provide nearly $230 million to the Commonwealth and its cities and towns for prevention, harm reduction, treatment, and recovery across Massachusetts, once finalized.  The parties are optimistic that the proposed settlements will gain critical support from attorneys general nationwide, so that local governments have an opportunity to join the resolutions during the first quarter of 2023. (Source: mass.gov) 
  • 2023
    • The Milton Health Department is participating in State calls and webinars
    • The Milton Health Department is meeting regularly with Norfolk County-8 Health Departments to discuss pooling Opioid Abatement monies
  • 2024
    • Contacted CareMass for technical assistance
    • Seeking proposals for Community Needs Assessment
    • Engagement Process, the Board of Health unanimously approved a consultant
    • Consultant Sky Freyss-Cole will facilitate, design and engage the Milton community  through inclusive workshops, and programs. Using a participatory process which will enable learning through relationship building, outreach and conversational listening sessions, data will be collected to glean what is the best way to spend Opioid Settlement funds in the Town of Milton. Timeframe: 10 months to 1 year
    • Pooling Opioid abatement funds with surrounding shared service health departments to hire a Recovery Coach for Milton through Riverside Community Care
    • Held first Community workshop on October 30, 2024 to listen to residents and community partners
    • November, December 2024, conducting focus groups 
  • 2025
    • Health Department staff attended a Narcan training put on by Health Resources in Action (January 2025) 
    • Coordination of SAM box with Narcan to be available for residents in the foyer of Town Hall 
    • Narcan was procured through the District Attorney's Office 
    • Consultant Sky Freyss-Cole continues to run focus group conversations and key-informant interviews as part of our community engagement process
    • On-going collection of data from Opioid Settlement funds community survey will inform how funds are used to support our community
    • Recovery coach has been hired through NC8 Coalition to support individuals in Milton during recovery - He will also serve other NC8 communities
    • Data collected from focus groups, key informant interviews, and the Community Survey will be compiled and analyzed throughout the spring to ultimately inform decisions on how to spend the Opioid Settlement Funds  
    • Opened Opioid Abatement Funds Grant Request funding up to $20,000, applications due November 30, 2025
    • Sambox installed in Town Hall foyer
    • Narcan available free of charge in Health Department 
    • Norfolk County District Attorneys office $2,500 scholarship for sober living
    • Contacted Mosaic TTA for technical assistance with grant application language and programming

Categories and strategies to expend abatement funds: 

Opioid Settlement Funds Community Discussion 

Community Engagement Report

Municipal Expenditure Reports