By Victoria Mejicanos
AFRO Staff Writer
vmejicanos@afro.com
A total of $2 million of the Opioid Restitution Fund has been allocated through community grants across 11 community based organizations in Baltimore, Mayor Brandon M. Scott announced Feb. 28.
In partnership with the Restitution Advisory Board (RAB), Baltimore City Mayor’s Office of Overdose Response (BCMOOR) and the Mayor’s Office of Recovery Programs (MORP), these organizations will use the funds to help support functions such as outreach and medication distribution, transportation and overall harm reduction practices.
“With this funding, these 11 organizations will expand accessibility to treatment and care, through mobile services that reach neighborhoods with the greatest need,” said Scott. “They will invest in the full array of low-barrier harm reduction services, including drug checking and naloxone distribution. They will help to connect folks to essential services like housing, job training, transportation and education. This work will be lifesaving, especially for communities hit hardest by the overdose crisis.”
The funding for these grants is drawn from the $579.9 million in legal settlements with opioid manufacturers and distributors. The Restitution Advisory Board (RAB), which was established by a 2024 executive order has been guiding the use of these funds. The group is made up of Baltimore City residents with lived experience, service providers, public health experts and City and state officials.
“I am extremely proud — and at the same time carefully humble — to be a part of such ground-breaking service work in the city of Baltimore,” said RAB member William Staton.“The Restitution Advisory Board is comprised of some of the most caring and skilled professionals I have ever met. It is with this continued harnessing of care and applied acumen that this Board will further cultivate life-saving strategies for the populations we serve here in Baltimore.”
The $2 million investment will be deployed to the following organizations and initiatives:
$500,000 Awards:
- Behavioral Health Leadership Institute will receive $500,000 to expand low-barrier access to Medications for Opioid Use Disorder (MOUD) through street-based outreach. Funding will also support harm reduction supply distribution, overdose prevention education, and the provision of street-based medical services for individuals with limited access to traditional care.
- Health Care for the Homeless will receive $500,000 to provide comprehensive harm reduction and substance use disorder (SUD) services for individuals experiencing homelessness, which include harm reduction supply distribution, SUD screenings, Medications for Opioid Use Disorder (MOUD), and integrated counseling and behavioral health services.
$250,000 Awards:
- Baltimore Harm Reduction Coalition will receive $250,000 to strengthen direct service delivery and overdose prevention efforts. Funding will enhance case management and clinical support, expand harm-reduction and stigma-reduction education initiatives, and support community collaboration across Baltimore.
- Check-It (Johns Hopkins University) will receive $250,000 to expand rapid-response drug checking and follow-up services. Funding will increase the organization’s capacity for drug checking, improve timely information sharing, and strengthen early-detection systems.
$200,000 Award:
- LeadingAge Maryland will receive $200,000 to expand training on harm reduction, stigma reduction, and overdose response for senior housing staff. Funding will support the expansion of onsite and mobile harm reduction services, including a focus on community workforce development.
$50,000 Awards:
- Community Builders, Inc. will receive $50,000 to provide housing stability and basic needs support alongside harm reduction education and engagement services. Funding will also support operations at its Wellness Center to improve stability among vulnerable residents.
- Drink at the Well, Inc. will receive $50,000 to provide job training and workforce development support for women in recovery and women at risk of substance use disorder.
- Good Trouble Church will receive $50,000 to expand harm reduction outreach, provide social support services through a drop-in center, and conduct community training workshops to increase awareness.
- HARBEL Community Organization will receive $50,000 to deliver wraparound supports for individuals with substance use disorder, including housing navigation, transportation assistance, employment support, and assistance with basic needs.
- Plantation Park Heights Urban Farm will receive $50,000 to provide vocational training for individuals with a history of opioid use disorder, facilitate trauma-informed wellness groups, and expand access to its 24/7 community pantry.
- The SOAP (Thriving, Healing, Empowering Seeds of Addicted Parents) will receive $50,000 to support youth peer groups, family resiliency programs, harm reduction education, overdose response training, and care coordination services for youth and families impacted by substance use.
According to a press release, future community grant rounds will be announced and awarded competitively through a process developed by the RAB, Baltimore City Mayor’s Office of Overdose Response (BCMOOR, and the Mayor’s Office of Recovery Programs (MORP).
“The Recovery Office is incredibly proud to help administer this grant process and ensure that these vital funds reach the front lines of the overdose crisis,” said Elizabeth Tatum, chief Recovery Officer for the Mayor’s Office of Recovery Programs. “By investing funds in our community, in partnership with BCMOOR, we enable organizations doing critical work to scale their impact.”