Regional Opioid Task Force announces grants, member sought

1. The Providing Access, Treatment and Hope (PATH) Grant Program, which will provide funding using pooled Opioid Abatement funds, intends to award a total of $50,000 for FY27, which may be split into several smaller grants.

2. Recruitment is underway for two community advisory members to join the Regional Opioid Taskforce to share their first-hand experience and perspectives regarding priority opioid prevention and response strategies and activities.

Subscribe

PATH grant

Proposals will be accepted from organizations seeking to strengthen resources available to communities in West Boylston and Shrewsbury for substance use disorder prevention, harm reduction, treatment, and recovery. Non-profits, for-profits, faith-based communities, and other community coalitions are eligible to apply. This is an opportunity to propose an innovative project that addresses at least one priority area identified in the Opioid Abatement Funds Listening Session Report for Shrewsbury and West Boylston.

The State Subdivision Agreement states that Opioid Abatement Funds must be used to supplement and strengthen, rather than supplant, resources for prevention, harm reduction, treatment, and recovery. The Agreement presents the following seven general strategies that municipalities may implement with abatement funds:

1. Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) treatment

2. Support people in treatment and recovery

3. Connections to care

4. Harm reduction

5. Address the needs of criminal-justice-involved persons

6. Support pregnant or parenting women and their families, including babies with Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome

7. Prevent misuse of opioids and implement prevention education.

Proposals are due Sept. 25, at 4 p.m., and must be submitted via the online application available at bit.ly/4xRzVqj. Projects are anticipated to be implemented between Nov. 1, 2026, and June 30, 2027.

Community Advisory member recruitment

The Regional Opioid Taskforce oversees implementation of Opioid Abatement funding allocated to regional programming initiatives in Shrewsbury and West Boylston. In addition to the three voting members from each community, the task force is currently recruiting a non-voting community member from each community.

Community representation will be prioritized to include people with lived and living experience of substance use to ensure these efforts center the voices of those with direct experience of the opioid crisis. Review the position description at bit.ly/4g9YNUj for additional information, including instructions on how to apply.

For any questions, contact Annette Garcia, regional health director, at agarcia@shrewsburyma.gov.