Trauma informed care and a 24/7 at an urban farm in Station North, job training for women in recovery in Curtis Bay, wrap around services to connect people to housing and mental health services for children with parents suffering from addiction all across the city are just some of the 11 initiatives Baltimore will be funding with its opioid restitution fund.
The city announced its first wave of grants ranging from $50,000 to $500,000 Thursday that will be awarded to local organizations and paid for with the more than half a billion dollars Baltimore received in settlements and court cases from opioid manufacturers and distributors.
“We fought to bring justice and healing to those impacted, starting with accountability for big pharma companies that fuel the crisis,” said Mayor Brandon Scott during a press conference at Healthcare for the Homeless Thursday. “Over the past year, the board worked to identify funding priorities that they, as residents and experts, felt would have the greatest impact on the crisis, in this moment, together, they carefully reviewed and advanced applications from funding local organizations. This was a process led by our community for our community.”
The first wave of local grants only makes up $2 million of the total funds Baltimore received, however, tens of millions have already been allocated to other organizations like Tuerk House, a residential treatment center, and Baltimore’s own health department for overdose response and testing equipment.
The 11 grantees include The SOAP, Healthcare for the Homeless, Johns Hopkins University’s Check It, Good Trouble Church, Drink at the Well, Inc. and others.
“This was an opportunity to access funding that would be able to support children as their parents journey through recovery and or if the parent never chooses recovery, still be able to offer support services for children,” said Erica Hamlett, the founder of The SOAP.
The grantees were chosen from 100 proposals the Opioid Restitution Advisory Board received. The panel encompasses drug experts, people in recovery and community leaders.
“The Restitution Advisory Board identified three key priority areas for funding at a high level,” said Sara Whaley, Baltimore’s director of overdose response. “Those three areas were to increase the availability of mobile treatment services, increase the availability of easy-to-access harm reduction services like naloxone distribution and drug checking, and increase access to social support services like housing, transportation, food assistance and employment.”
The contracts still need to be approved by the city Board of Estimates.
Baltimore plans to roll out more waves of grants in the future, however, the fund is built to last over a period of at least 15 years, with the money being held in a trust.
“We don't want this to be looked at as a quick thing. This is a sustainability plan for us for how we're going to deal with this epidemic,” Scott said.
Baltimore’s 2026 budget has $37 million allocated to implement its strategic plan to reduce overdoses and addiction.
That money will expand the city’s mobile health clinic by 25 positions and build out triage services for emergency medical services.
Three million will expand the city’s homeless shelters and $18 million will go to specific non-profits focused on drug addiction.
