City directs a cut of opioid settlement funds to grieving families
Demonstrators hold up signs that feature photos of their loved ones they lost in the opioid epidemic protest outside the Suffolk Superior Court on August 2, 2019, in Boston, Massachusetts. Stuart Cahill/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald via Getty Images
This summer, some families in Boston could start receiving payments to cover funeral expenses and legal services.
As early as this summer, Boston families hit hardest by the opioid crisis could see some of the city’s $22 million in settlement money sent straight to their pockets.
In its first settlement-funded program, the city will finance a grief support program for families who lost a loved one to a drug overdose, Boston Public Health Commission, or BPHC, officials announced earlier this year. The rate of opioid-related overdose deaths has increased in recent years in Massachusetts, hitting 33.5 per 100,000 in 2022. And with each one of those deaths, a family suffers.
The Family Overdose Support Fund looks to alleviate financial burdens families often face with an overdose-related death, such as funeral expenses or legal services. Funds can also be used to cover child care and therapy.
The decision to finance the family overdose program with the first settlement funds came after residents were surveyed about how they thought the money should be spent. Conducted over the summer of 2023, results were released earlier this year. According to the community engagement report 39% of 415 survey respondents said the city should focus its efforts on impacted families, such as grandparents who have to care for grandchildren while also grieving the death of their child who overdosed from drug use.
City officials want to “honor the voices of the community … and to think about their needs as our first approach,” said Bisola Ojikutu, commissioner of public health and executive director of the BPHC, on a January call with reporters.
More than half—52%—of respondents said settlement funds should go toward new programming rather than reinvesting in existing ones. Community members also prioritized housing assistance, overdose prevention services and youth education and outreach interventions.
The grief program will be allocated $250,000 in settlement money each year, which can support approximately 50 families with $5,000 annually, Ojikutu said in an email to Route Fifty. The fund will also accept private donations.
“Currently, the plan is to either pay invoices or through reimbursements,” Ojikutu said. “However, we will finalize the design with the fund administrator; and once the fund is implemented, we will continue to evaluate the program, assess community needs and adapt as needed.”
The grief fund is modeled after the state’s assistance programs for victims of violence and those affected by the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, according to an April 16 request for proposals. The RFP calls for a vendor to help finalize programming details and administer the funds. Proposals are due May 31.
Once selected, the vendor will help BPHC establish eligibility requirements, such as what defines a family and how the city will determine someone’s residency.
The initial $250,000 investment makes up 4% of the city’s first round of settlement payments, which has totaled about $6 million as of December 2023. Earlier this month, officials announced the second use of settlement funds will go toward the Community Overdose Response Grants, which will support substance use disorder prevention and mitigation efforts among Black and Latino communities.
The Family Overdose Support Program “is one step in a longer process … to mitigate the harms that have been caused by this opioid crisis and to so many families who have lost loved ones,” Ojikutu said during the call.
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