HOLYOKE, Mass. (WWLP) – The City of Holyoke hosted a forum to discuss how to use money from an opioid settlement.
This was the second forum of the day and was an opportunity for residents to have a say in how these funds are used to address the ongoing opioid crisis in the community.
The family that owns Purdue Pharma agreed to pay up to $7.4 billion to towns and cities across the US in January over their role in the opioid crisis. When Governor Healey served as the attorney general for Massachusetts in 2021, she was among the first to sue the family for enabling the overdose epidemic.
“If one individual passes away from an overdose, that means a family is ravaged, in a community is ravaged. We didn’t just lose somebody suffering from a disease of addiction. We lost a son, a father, a friend, and that person to the community,” said Western Massachusetts Regional Coordinator for Moar, Nico Alicea.
The city of Holyoke is receiving $1 million from the state settlement. “We know that opioid use impacts a cross-section of our community. There is literally no one in this city who is untouched,” said Alicia Zoeller.
A forum held at the Council on Aging aimed to get community feedback on how the city can best spend the funds to address the ongoing issues of opioid addiction.
“Access to treatment services is in my hands. There is always a need to be more lack of beds for detoxes. There are so many things that we are shorthanded,” expressed Alicea.
“There are concerns around when folks are released from treatment and they are successfully moving towards recovery, where are they going to return to?” added Zoeller.
There’s also a discussion of helping to supplement recovery coaches. After an open period of public comments and committee recommendations, the funds are expected to be distributed in early March of next year, but the mayor makes the final decisions.
Non-profits and organizations will also have the chance to apply for opioid funds to address the needs identified by the city. And if you weren’t able to provide your concerns, a survey will be open through October 3rd. The results of the survey and forums will be discussed at another public meeting sometime in November.
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Kayleigh Thomas
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