Boosting the availability of mental health services, eliminating transportation as a barrier to treatment, and improving access to peer support options for those struggling with opioid use disorder were among the top priorities of survey and focus group participants hoping to guide the town’s decision-making when it comes to spending Belmont’s opioid settlement money.
According to the state website, in 2021, Massachusetts joined a series of nationwide financial settlements with several pharmaceutical companies and pharmacies that the states claimed were deemed liable for the epidemic of opioid abuse. Combined, these settlements will bring over $900 million into Massachusetts for substance use prevention, harm reduction, treatment, and recovery support.
According to the town, allocations of roughly $30,000 to $60,000 will be distributed annually in Belmont until 2038. According to Public Health Consultant Jess Fefferman, the town has $30,000 remaining in fiscal year 2025 to spend and $100,000 to spend in fiscal year 2026.
“The settlement funds are very heavily prescribed in terms of how we’re to use them,” said Fefferman.
After months of interviews and focus groups, combined with a survey that garnered 574 responses (for a 5.5% response rate), the Board of Health voted unanimously to support Fefferman’s recommendations for spending the money. In the days since, the Select Board has also voted in support of the recommendations, which include authorizing Town Administrator Patrice Garvin—in collaboration with the Select Board and Board of Health—to administer the remainder of the fiscal year 2025 funds, as well as funds for fiscal year 2026.
“These are things that need to be evaluated annually to make sure they’re working and how to possibly adjust them,” Fefferman said. “Even though the funding goes through 2038, I think there needs to be a bigger evaluation in 2030 for subsequent years.”
Among the recommendations was for the town to budget roughly $13,000 for a part-time recovery coach/substance use coordinator. Specifically, this person would have lived experience with substance use disorder—the role, she said, could potentially be split with another town, such as Winchester.
Other recommendations include providing financial support to families who have lost a family member in opioid-related deaths or providing direct support for opioid treatment, as well as offering weekly support groups, raising awareness about needles and prescription medications, and offering naloxone training. Naloxone is the generic name for Narcan, a drug given to halt opioid overdoses.
In Belmont, there were nine opioid-related deaths between 2019 and 2023, according to the state’s database. Reports of opioid-related EMS visits totaled 64 between 2020 and 2023, and 78 residents received prescriptions for medication to treat opioid use disorder from July 2023 to June 2024.
“Belmont has a much lower rate of opioid use deaths and EMS visits than surrounding towns, especially Boston,” Fefferman said, responding to a question from resident Ira Morgenstern about how Belmont compares to other communities. “The number of opioid deaths overall have been impacted in a positive way by Narcan. There have been a significant number of overdose reversals due to Narcan. Those are just ones that are reported.”
The consultant’s recommendations also suggested the town move the used needle collection bin from the Health Department to the Police Department, as it’s a more familiar building to town residents.
The recommendations also included allocating roughly $8,000 annually to support opioid-specific education and prevention-related activities.
“I see this as similar to [American Rescue Plan Act Funds] — [it’s] money we weren’t anticipating that’s going to be used for a specific purpose,” said Town Administrator Patrice Garvin.
