Mass. communities fought for opioid settlements but aren’t spending the money

Massachusetts cities and towns are sitting on $84 million in opioid settlement funds. Some communities have yet to spend any of the funding they've received from lawsuits meant to address at least some of the damage caused by these addictive, potentially deadly substances.

Municipalities have spent just 6% of the $91 million received from opioid manufacturers and distributors, according to reports submitted to the state. That’s up slightly from the 4% communities used in the first year they received money. Payments began arriving in the summer of 2022.

Some communities have spent significant amounts of their settlement. Wrentham reported spending 84% of its $49,000. Westford spent a little more than half of its funds. And Worcester had spent 22% of its $2.2 million as of the end of the last fiscal year in June.

But dozens of cities and towns, including Boston, had still not spent any of the money they received.

Boston officials said they've begun spending the city’s $5.1 million in settlement dollars. Following a broad effort to gather advice, Boston pledged $1 million in grants last September. And late last month, the city launched a $250,000 support fund for families who’ve lost a member to an overdose.

Among cities and towns that are spending their settlement dollars, the top expense is administration, followed by treatment and recovery support, harm reduction and prevention. Nearly three-quarters of communities say they're bringing people directly affected by the crisis into the decision-making process.

But 79% of municipalities say they don’t plan to serve groups the state suggests prioritizing, including people who are low-income, disabled or don't have stable housing.

Department of Public Health said in an email that many cities and towns lack the capacity and staffing to gather input from their communities about what’s needed to reduce addiction, deaths and the consequences of opioid use. Others have worked to get input but hope to learn more from people scarred by the epidemic. Some town leaders have said few people show up to the meetings about using the money.

Municipalities also can request help identifying ways to use the funds; 179 have done so.

Public health advocates are frustrated by the slow progress. Six Massachusetts residents, on average, die from an overdose every day, according to a department report.

Emily Wilson has been to some of those funerals. Now, as assistant commissioner for Health and Human Services in Plymouth, she’s working on getting settlement money into the community.

Plymouth had spent 43% of its settlement payments through last June. The funding went toward care for children with neonatal abstinence syndrome, substance use prevention programs in schools, recovery programs and street outreach efforts.

Wilson said she understands the urgency some feel to spend the money more quickly. But she said time spent getting input and organizing a grant application process is worth it.

"We want our approach to counter and reflect what has been taken from people over decades,” Wilson said. “The crisis robbed people of their voice and their trust. That takes time to restore."

Robyn Houston-Bean, whose son Nick died from an overdose in 2015, said while there’s an urgent need to get funds to people and programs, she appreciates the cities and towns that are listening to their communities.

“You can put a bandaid on quickly, but is it going to change anything?” she said. “My thing is how can we make a much more global change in our communities.”

Houston-Bean, who founded the peer support network The Sun Will Rise Foundation, said she isn’t sure yet what that would look like.

The state, with guidance from an advisory council, has committed 61% of the $183 million it has received so far. Settlement payments are expected to continue for about a dozen years. In most cases, the state receives 60%, while cities and towns get 40%.

Cities and towns that receive more than $35,000 a year from the settlements are required to tell the state how they spent the money. All did last year except one: Hull. The town manager has not responded to questions about why.