The Finance Committee voted to approve a request to appropriate $446,104.67 from Certified Free Cash into the Health & Human Services Department for purposes of mitigating the effects of the opioid crisis. The City received $446,104.67 as part of a settlement agreement between the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and Johnson and Johnson, a collective of opioid distributers, Walmart, Teva, Allergen, CVS, and Walgreens. The Commonwealth will receive over $900 million, and each municipality was given the option to sign on as a party to the settlement. Based on the current settlements so far, Newton may receive up to $3.8 million between 2022 and 2039.
According to this memo from Health and Human Services Commissioner Linda Walsh, the funds may not be used to supplement existing resources but are to be used for the following:
- Opioid use disorder treatment
- Support people in treatment recovery
- Connections to care
- Harm reduction
- Address the needs of criminal-justice- involved persons
- Support pregnant or parenting women and their families, including babies with
neonatal abstinence syndrome - Prevent misuse of opioids and implement prevention education
In 2022, the City formed a Newton Coalition for Community Wellness to work on “youth prevention, parent support, community education, and harm reduction.” The Coalition includes members from the Health and Human Services Department, the Senior Center, the City Council, Newton Public Schools, Police and Fire Departments, Coastal EMS, Newton-Wellesley Hospital, Boston College, Newton Community Development Foundation, and the Newton community.
The City will be working with the Newton Wellesley Hospital Substance Use Services Clinic as well.
In meeting state guidelines, the City intends to use the funds to:
- Expand treatment options
- Increase connections to care for at-risk individuals
- Enhance support for individual who have lost someone to substance use and/or
who currently have a loved one who is using substances - Implement harm reduction measures including increased access to naloxone
- Provide school and community-based substance use education, programming and resources throughout the lifespan of an individual
The Newton Coalition for Community Wellness will hold a Community Resource Night: Overdose Prevention on Wednesday, November 29, 7PM-8:30PM at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church (258 Concord Street, Newton Lower Falls). The program will include overdose information, harm reduction distribution (Free Narcan and Fentanyl Test Strips), and substance-use resources, and it will honor those lost.
Ed. Note: We revised this article to correct the date when the Finance Committee was to meet — November 13 and to reflect that the Finance Committee voted to approve the item.