By Victoria Mejicanos
AFRO Staff Writer
Baltimore City Mayor Brandon M. Scott has announced the timeline and process to apply for Opioid Restitution Fund community grants. Scott said the funding will total $2 million in a press conference on Oct 10. The full application for these “competitive” grants, including detailed instructions and a submission portal, will be available on Oct. 23, 2025.
The city hopes that providing this timeline in advance will encourage a variety of organizations to apply.
“We know that there are organizations of all different scopes and sizes that do incredible work here in Baltimore,” said Sara Whaley, the executive director of the mayor’s office of overdose response. “We want to ensure that every organization that has a positive impact on the overdose crisis has the time and opportunity to prepare for this application.”
The mayor’s office will host two proposal orientation sessions on Oct. 27 and 28 to discuss grant requirements and answer additional questions. Grant proposals are due Nov. 23, at 11:59 p.m. EST. All organizations that have submitted proposals will be notified if they will be moving forward to a full application process by Dec. 11. Announcements of awards will be sometime in February, according to Whaley.
The funds for these grants come from the Opioid Restitution Fund, established after the city sued pharmaceutical companies for their role in the opioid crisis. The announcement of the timeline for grant funding came just one day after yet another mass overdose in the Penn North neighborhood on Oct. 9. The community experienced a major mass overdose over the summer that made national news.
Scott stated that there were no casualties in the Oct. 9 incident and acknowledged the recent overdoses as a reminder of the continued urgency to address the crisis.
“Incidents like these only strengthen our commitment to ending the opioid epidemic in our city and preventing future pain and trauma,” said Scott. “We know we have work to do, but we have never been in a better position to end this crisis. We have the will. We have the people, and most importantly, now, we have the funding.”
The Restitution Advisory Board, which guides the use of the city’s restitution funds, voted to fund projects advancing three key activities based on the Baltimore City Overdose Response Strategic Plan.
Applications will be accepted for proposals related to three activity tiers according to the press release that followed the announcement:
- Tier 3 (up to $500,000): Increase availability of low-barrier mobile treatment services, specifically in geographic areas that are disproportionately affected by overdose but may not have the necessary number of services to meet the need. Tier 3 funding must include robust harm reduction services.
- Tier 2 (up to $250,000): Increase access to a full array of low-barrier harm reduction services (including naloxone distribution, drug checking, syringe service programs, wound care, and other evidence-based strategies). Tier 2 funding must include robust harm reduction services.
- Tier 1 (up to $50,000): Increase access to low-barrier social support social services ( housing, transportation, food assistance, education, and employment) for people who use drugs and people with substance use disorders.
Officials say each tier reflects a comprehensive strategy to meet people where they are and expand services across the city.
“All of these things contribute to a person’s ability to meet their goals that they set for themselves, and facilitate a pathway to healing together,” said Whaley. “These grants will build on the existing work of the overdose response that’s being carried out in partnership with the city and community based organizations.”