FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 25, 2025
CONTACT:
Molly McKinney, Ball Consulting Group, LLC
Phone: 617-243-9950; Email: molly@ballcg.com
RIZE Massachusetts Awards Nearly $440,000 to Train Social Workers in Evidence-Based Approach to Opioid Overdose Crisis
HaRT Scholars Program Educates Master of Social Work Students in Harm Reduction Practices at Four Colleges and Universities
BOSTON (Aug. 25, 2025) – RIZE Massachusetts Foundation (RIZE), a nonprofit foundation solely dedicated to funding and collaborating on solutions to end the opioid overdose crisis in Massachusetts, today announced that it is awarding nearly $440,000 in grants to develop a pipeline of social workers trained in harm reduction approaches to this crisis.
The Harm Reduction Training (HaRT) Scholars program supports specialized internships for Master of Social Work students at Boston College, Bridgewater State University, Simmons University, and Westfield State University. The funding will also support Northeastern University in its continued evaluation of the program.
“As the HaRT Scholars program enters its fifth year, it continues to identify important commonalities between social work and harm reduction, providing evidence for integrating the two fields to improve services for people who use drugs,” said Julie Burns, president and CEO of RIZE Massachusetts. “The program also opens Master of Social Work students to the possibility of a career in addiction treatment and infuses their professional practice, regardless of specialty, with harm reduction principles. HaRT Scholars will enter the front lines of the opioid crisis prepared to compassionately support individuals on their path to better quality of life and overall health.”
The HaRT Scholars program was the first of its kind in the country in 2021. It has supported paid internships and specialized training for 55 HaRT Scholars, and will support an additional 20 scholars in the upcoming 2025 to 2026 academic year.
“Substance use focused education, especially harm reduction education, is rarely present in social work curriculum, leaving social workers underprepared to effectively intervene and support the individuals, children, and families in the communities we work in during an ongoing opioid crisis,” said Taylor Hall, Assistant Professor of Social Work at Bridgewater State University. “The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive from our HaRT Scholars, the internship organizations, and from other faculty, and I wish that every social work student in the country had access to this training.”
Harm reduction training sites for the program receive increased clinical presence and a financial payment to offset time for intern supervision. Each of the participating universities promotes the HaRT Scholars program to students who identify as BIPOC to increase the presence of racially, ethnically, and socioeconomically diverse social workers in the field.
“Our partnership with RIZE has stoked curiosity, conversations, and commitment to advancing best practices in the area of substance use throughout the entire Simmons learning community of students, staff, faculty, administrators, and the community organizations with which we partner,” said Jeffrey Steen, Assistant Professor of Social Work at Simmons University. “The HaRT Scholars program offers a different level of support, providing financial incentives, and opportunities for mentoring that profoundly shape students’ career trajectories.”
Harm reduction services, especially when integrated with access to clinical addiction treatment programs, can prevent death and improve care for people living with opioid use disorder. RIZE’s Enabling Health: Enhancing Harm Reduction and Saving Lives grant program identified a need to augment harm reduction services throughout the substance use disorder continuum, but found that many providers, including social workers, do not receive the proper training and specialized education for utilizing harm reduction approaches in their practice.
Harm reduction is an approach that focuses on reducing the negative consequences of drug use and supporting individuals in embracing any positive change in their lives and health. The interventions can include a range of services such as overdose education, naloxone distribution, drug checking, and syringe exchange. Harm reduction itself should not be seen as a way to end opioid use, but rather as a survival plan that keeps people alive and safe.
About RIZE Massachusetts
RIZE Massachusetts Foundation (RIZE) is solely dedicated to funding and collaborating on solutions to end the overdose crisis. Guided by those with lived and living experience and unafraid of new ideas, RIZE is building networks, creating programming, and investing in community partners using novel approaches to preventing overdose and increasing access to treatment and recovery supports. RIZE makes health equity a programmatic priority by addressing root causes such as racism, systemic barriers to care, and power imbalances. Learn more at www.rizema.org.
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