Northampton is among the Massachusetts cities ready to give out grants from the state’s opioid settlement fund.
Overall, the state is set to get $1 billion dollars from the national settlement with drug makers over the two decades.
In the first round, Northampton is giving out a total of $120,000 to local groups.
Taylor McDonough, director of prevention, said city health leaders narrowed down grant priorities after getting the community’s input. Those categories include housing, addiction prevention, and harm reduction — trying to make sure drug users don’t overdose or get diseases.
"Nationally harm reduction is kind of being shamed or ridiculed," she said. "So [the grants are] making sure people still have access to syringe services and Narcan."
Northampton is expecting about $500,000 for its share of opioid settlement funds over the next five years.
McDonough said those funds are critical given the federal government’s changing priorities on substance use prevention under Trump. In addition to cancelling some programs, she said the current administration has put in new restrictions that make it hard to target the most vulnerable communities, including people of color and immigrants.
"It's preventing new projects from happening," shes said. "So how can we be innovative? How can we continue to wrestle with a drug supply that's constantly changing?"
As overdose rates in Hampshire county have gone down in recent years, McDonough said want to preserve that trend.
Northampton's application deadline is May 15 for grants up to $10,000.
