The City of Fall River is asking the community how it should spend approximately $8 million over 15 years to ease the impact the opioid epidemic has had on city residents.
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts has received nearly a billion dollars as part of a nationwide settlement with drugmakers and pharmacies who were sued for their role in perpetuating the addiction of millions of Americans.
Fall River Director of Health and Human Services Tess Curran says the city has already received $1.8 million in funds and is developing a plan to distribute the money to focus on drug prevention, harm reduction, treatment, and recovery.
She says the city has begun the process of determining the current landscape of the opioid epidemic in Fall River.
Individuals in Fall River can also get involved by lending input through a community survey.
Ms. Curran says the city will implement a multi-year grant cycle to allocate the funds for worthy projects.
The mayor will carry out the allocation of the settlement funds with approval by the city council. Before that takes place a panel of residents will screen all applications.
Ms. Curran says overcoming the opioid epidemic will take time and the level of success may vary during the 15-year course of the settlement campaign. She remains hopeful the city will see positive results from the project.
The community’s deadline to participate in the survey is May 3rd. A public meeting seeking comment on how to utilize the settlement funds will be held on May 1.
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