Maryland’s Opioid Restitution Fund Advisory Council is considering new ways to advise the state to spend hundreds of millions of dollars won by the state to reduce the use of drug overdoses.
One possibility is increasing incentives for peer specialists, said Emily Keller, Maryland’s special secretary of overdose response, during a Monday meeting of the council.
“We hear very often the need to support peers, peer salaries, ways to attract peers and keep them here in Maryland, because we know we have an incredible peer system, and they do great work,” Keller said.
Network peers are people who have previously used opioids and have since recovered and act as a support system for those who are newly in recovery.
“Peer support in substance use recovery assists individuals who seek long-term recovery by establishing supportive and reciprocal relationships that support the initiation and maintenance of recovery,” a 2021 study in the medical journal Substance Abuse: Research and Treatment states. “Positive experiences included a decrease in the perception of stigma about substance use and feeling valued. Supervision played a key role in the success of the peer worker role, with concerns related to supervisors who are not in recovery.”
Salaries for certified peers can range. A 2023 posting for a part-time certified peer in Anne Arundel County offered about $19 to $20 an hour for a part-time position.
The Opioid Restitution Fund Advisory Council has already made numerous recommendations to the state on how it should spend its settlement money.
Those include increasing opioid awareness, expanding harm reduction centers, increasing naloxone distribution and bettering reentry services for those in recovery.
In 2024, Maryland will have about $16.3 million available in its opioid restitution fund for allocation.
The council recently closed a request for applications for businesses and nonprofits interested in grant funding to help provide harm reduction and recovery services.
Keller noted that the state received a large number of applications.
From July 2023 to June 2024, Maryland saw 2030 overdoes deaths, according to the state’s dashboard. About 1,760 of those were related to opioids.
