Phila.gov
Read full article at Inquirer.com
Recovery specialists, grief counseling, and wound care for people addicted to xylazine are among the projects that Philadelphia’s Overdose Prevention and Community Healing Fund will support in its second year dispensing grants to combat the opioid epidemic.
The fund dispensed $1.9 million in grants last year and announced another round of grants totaling $3.1 million on Wednesday, using money from settlements in lawsuits filed against opioid manufacturers, which are widely blamed for sparking an addiction and overdose crisis that has killed hundreds of thousands across the U.S. Grantees were selected with help from three separate groups of community members who weighed grant proposals for Kensington, the neighborhood hit hardest by the opioid epidemic; North Philadelphia, where overdose deaths are spiking; and citywide operations.
Danielle Spencer, one of the community grant committee members, said many participants had deeply personal connections to the work: Some were in recovery themselves. Others had lost loved ones to overdoses. “We weren’t just reviewing proposals. We were helping to shape the future of support for those most affected by the opioid crisis. And know that our decision will empower these amazing nonprofits to continue their vital work,” she said at Wednesday’s event to announce the grants.
Funding for the Overdose Prevention and Community Healing Fund comes from a $200 million payout, dispensed over the next 18 years, from a $26 billion nationwide settlement negotiated in 2022. The city also recently announced that it will receive $110 million from a separate settlement with Walgreens.
