Healey-Driscoll Administration Awards $3.75 Million to 18 Grassroots Organizations to Address the Opioid Crisis

RIZE News

August 21, 2024

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 21, 2024

CONTACT:
Ayub Tahlil, ayub.tahlil@mass.gov, 617-939-7516

Healey-Driscoll Administration Awards $3.75 Million to 18 Grassroots Organizations to Address the Opioid Crisis

Awards are part of unique public-private partnership to allow small, community-based organizations and municipalities to apply for statewide opioid settlement funds

BOSTON — The Healey-Driscoll Administration today announced $3.75 million in grants to 18 grassroots organizations to reduce the harms caused by the opioid epidemic in communities disproportionately impacted by overdose deaths. The grants are the first to be awarded through the Mosaic Opioid Recovery Partnership (Mosaic), a new grantmaking program designed to support communities and populations that have been historically underserved and have experienced a high rate of opioid-related overdose deaths.

Mosaic was developed earlier in 2024 through a collaboration between the Department of Public Health’s (DPH) Bureau of Substance Addiction Services and RIZE Massachusetts to increase the equitable allocation of Opioid Recovery and Remediation Fund (ORRF) grants to small community-based organizations and municipalities that often face significant obstacles and barriers to accessing more traditional funding opportunities.

“Too many Massachusetts families have been devastated by the impacts of substance use disorder,” said Governor Maura Healey. “These awards underscore our commitment to equitable access to necessary resources for prevention, recovery, and treatment programs in communities disproportionately impacted by the opioid epidemic.”

“These grants ensure that opioid settlement funds are invested in community organizations that are working at the grassroots level but that face challenges in competing for grant funding,” said Undersecretary of Health Kiame Mahaniah. “We’re hopeful that these diverse organizations will now have the ability to build on their substance use disorder programming while centering the voices of the community they know so well and who have been directly impacted by the overdose crisis.”

The primary goal of this first round of funding is to help organizations deepen their impact, bring their work to scale, and build a strong and sustainable infrastructure to meet the needs of the populations they serve. Each organization will receive between $16,000 to $150,000 annually over a three-year period to focus on one or all of the following areas: prevention, harm-reduction, connections to care, recovery supports, trauma, grief, and family supports.

“Our efforts are focused on reducing barriers to access in communities and among populations hardest hit by substance use disorder and overdose deaths,” said Department of Public Health Commissioner Robbie Goldstein, MD, PhD. “Those working at the grassroots level, who know their communities best, need this support to provide culturally responsive services for those struggling with addiction and families that have suffered devastating losses to overdose.”

“Opioid settlement funding has created a rare opportunity to provide the people and the communities most impacted by the overdose crisis with the resources to support locally led prevention, treatment, intervention, recovery and harm reduction services,” said Deirdre Calvert, Director of DPH’s Bureau of Substance Addiction Services. “Mosaic will be the bridge that connects our statewide overdose prevention strategy to local efforts.”

“We believe the best ideas come from learning, sharing, and partnerships. Just like a mosaic is made up of individual materials to create a complete picture, this partnership brings together the best community-led ideas and initiatives across the Commonwealth to create a comprehensive response to the opioid overdose crisis,” said Julie Burns, President and CEO of RIZE. “This model will ensure that the dollars are invested and remain in the communities most deeply impacted by the crisis while also fueling transformative change through grassroots efforts.”

In addition to this first round of funding, there will be two additional rounds of grantmaking this fiscal year, which ends on June 30, 2025. All rounds of grantmaking will be informed by those with lived experience and expertise related to the overdose crisis. Overall, the Mosaic grantmaking program represents a commitment by the Commonwealth to dedicate $5 million annually over the next 18 years (or 18 percent of the total opioid settlement funds in the ORRF) toward funding locally led initiatives to address the harms caused by the opioid epidemic.

First round Mosaic grant program awardees: 

  • Access HOPE, Mashpee
  • AIDS Project Worcester, Worcester
  • Black Behavioral Health Network, Springfield
  • Camp Happy Place, Barrington
  • Centro De Ayuda Y Esperanza Latina, Bedford
  • Choice Recovery Coaching Inc., Springfield
  • Extreme Kid, Inc., Springfield
  • Fishing Partnership Health Plan/Fishing Partnership Support Services, New Bedford
  • Hilltown Youth Recovery Theater, Charlemont
  • Harm Reduction Hedgehogs (HRH413), Northampton
  • Safe Exit Initiative, Worcester
  • South Shore Peer Recovery, Scituate
  • The Commission on the Status of Grandparents Raising Grandchildren of Massachusetts, Boston
  • The Psychological Center, Lawrence
  • The Sun Will Rise, Braintree
  • Torch Light Recovery, Boston
  • Troubled Waters Inc./Bridge Club of Greater Lowell, Lowell
  • Uhai for Health Inc., Worcester

The ORRF was established in 2020 to receive and administer funds from certain legal settlements relating to allegations brought against companies in connection with the opioid crisis. Over the next 18 years, Massachusetts anticipates $1 billion to be received through the settlements and used for substance use prevention, harm reduction, treatment, and recovery. Of this funding, 40 percent is allocated for municipalities and 60 percent directly to the ORRF.

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Position Summary

Mosaic Opioid Recovery Partnership (Mosaic), funded by the MA Department of Public Health, Bureau of Substance Addiction Services and powered by RIZE Massachusetts Foundation (RIZE), is a partnership like no other. It is a unique, public-private collaboration designed to support initiatives that are addressing the opioid overdose crisis in communities that have been historically underserved and have experienced a high rate of opioid-related overdose deaths.

The funding for Mosaic comes from the Massachusetts Opioid Recovery and Remediation Fund (ORRF), which resulted from the historic legal effort to demand justice from several private companies for the harms caused by the opioid epidemic. This is one of the first public-private partnerships of this magnitude using settlement funds for community-led initiatives.

In partnership with BSAS and municipalities receiving opioid abatement funds, RIZE manages the Municipal Training and Technical Assistance (Muni TTA) Program. This program aligns with Mosaic’s mission to ensure that opioid abatement funds are invested and remain in the communities most deeply impacted by the crisis while also fueling transformative change through grassroots, community-led efforts.

The Muni TTA project manager provides project management, data, and operational support, ensuring the Muni TTA Program runs smoothly, is well documented, and is grounded in data. This role translates program strategy into concrete workplans, tracking systems, and reporting products, and provides day-to-day task direction to the program coordinator on project deliverables.

RIZE seeks someone for this position who is passionate about ending the overdose crisis and unafraid of new ideas. Success will require a positive, can-do, learning mindset and a collaborative, team-oriented approach. We are looking for candidates who understand how complex and interconnected issues, such as funding, data systems, and municipal government structures, intersect with addressing the overdose crisis.

The project manager supports the implementation of the Muni TTA workplan and Salesforce data infrastructure, coordinates monthly and quarterly reporting, provides project management support to four regional community advisory boards (CABs), and manages the logistics and content pipeline for the program's webinar series and newsletter. This position reports to the chief program officer (CPO) and works closely with the senior program officer (SPO).

 

Key Responsibilities

1. Workplan & Data Management

  • Oversee the Muni TTA workplan and Asana project management structure across six program goals: Proactive Outreach; Communications and Engagement; Quality Assurance and Team Development; Evaluation and Reporting; Intermunicipal Collaboration and Partnerships; and Community Advisory Boards. Monitor and keep progress, and identify risks or adjustments needed to keep deliverables on track
  • Set and monitor Salesforce data quality standards, oversee the Mosaic Muni TTA dashboard in coordination with the program coordinator, and produce reports; identify data quality issues and recommend adjustments to tracked metrics as the program evolves.
  • Monitor case documentation and tracking; compile monthly quality-review summaries for senior management review.
  • Support municipal capacity assessments by synthesizing results, identifying gaps, and helping the SPO draft action plans that reflect program priorities and municipal needs.

2. Reporting & Leadership Support

  • Compile regular qualitative reports, drafting the consolidated narrative of outcomes, barriers, and strategic adjustments for the SPO to finalize.
  • Develop regular progress updates, data summaries, and briefing materials for senior leadership, translating program activity and outcomes into clear talking points for internal review and external stakeholder discussions.
  • Coordinate senior leadership meeting preparation by identifying needed inputs, shaping agendas around key decisions, and ensuring materials are ready for review and follow-up. Coordinate post meeting follow-up.
  • Participate in cross-sector coordination meetings as needed to support data, reporting, or project management needs.

3. Community Advisory Board & Event Support

  • Provide project management for CAB implementation tracking progress and outcome metrics.
  • Direct administrative support for CABs, including materials preparation and outreach coordination.
  • Coordinate logistics, timelines, materials, follow-up, and slide preparation for regional and statewide presentations, meetings, and events.

4. Communications & Content Pipeline

  • Project-manage Mosaic TTA webinars: in coordination with the program coordinator maintain the topic and speaker pipeline, coordinate scheduling and logistics, and track post-session evaluations.
  • Project-manage Muni TTA bulletin and newsletter production, coordinating content collection, drafting, and oversee program coordinator with distribution timelines, and tracking engagement analytics.
  • Direct the program coordinator's development of training materials and slide decks; review for quality and program alignment before routing to senior leadership for approval.

 

Qualifications

Required

  • Strong organizational and time management skills
  • Proficiency in Microsoft Office, Google Workspace, and virtual meeting platforms
  • Excellent written and verbal communication skills

Preferred

  • Experience in public health, behavioral health, or harm reduction
  • Familiarity with workforce development initiatives
  • Experience supporting coalitions or multi-partner collaborations
  • Experience working with communities disproportionately impacted by substance use and overdose

Core Competencies

  • Commitment to harm reduction philosophy and health equity
  • Cultural humility and trauma-informed approach
  • Ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment
  • Strong interpersonal skills and collaborative mindset
  • High level of discretion and professionalism
  • Bachelor's degree in public health, public administration, business, or a related field and a minimum of five years of relevant experience; or a master's degree and a minimum of two years of experience.
  • Demonstrated project management experience, ideally within a public health, government, or nonprofit setting.
  • Strong data and systems management skills; experience with Salesforce, or a comparable CRM/database strongly preferred.
  • Experience managing workplans, timelines, and reporting cycles.
  • Experience with supervision preferred.
  • Excellent written communication skills, including experience drafting reports and briefing materials for review by senior staff.
  • Proficiency with Salesforce, Asana, Microsoft Office 365, and virtual conferencing platforms; familiarity with Canva, WordPress, and Constant Contact a plus.
  • Knowledge of the Massachusetts opioid settlement funding landscape and municipal government structures preferred.

Skills, Abilities, Attributes

  • Strong organizational skills and sound judgment in a fast-paced, small-team, collegial environment.
  • Comfortable managing competing priorities and shifting timelines with minimal oversight.
  • Demonstrated track record of sustained high-quality, independent work in fast-paced environments.
  • Effective relationship-builder able to coordinate across internal teams and external stakeholders.
  • Ability to exercise discretion in handling confidential or sensitive information.
  • Motivated by a keen sense of mission and values with a willingness to embrace and actively support RIZE's agenda.

Work Environment

The Municipal TTA project manager is a full-time, hybrid role. RIZE is in downtown Boston; travel, primarily in-state, will be required for meetings and events as needed. This role may require evening and occasional weekend work.

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