Opioid Settlement Fund Plan Overview

The Wellesley Health Department (WHD) has developed a three-phase plan for the use of Opioid Settlement Funds (OSF). This plan is based on both the requirements of the OSF Agreement and best practices for the prevention, harm reduction, treatment, and recovery. 

Phase I: Information Gathering

The WHD has contracted with Trendline Analysis to undertake a community health needs assessment to identify major health issues with a focus on (but not limited to) substance use.  The needs assessment includes:

• One-on-one interviews with key local informants like emergency responders, recovery specialists and substance misuse specialists ,
• Focus groups with community stakeholders such as youth serving organizations, elder service organizations,  and treatment and recovery providers,  and
• A community  health survey made available to  Wellesley residents .

Phase II: Developing an Action Plan

Once the health needs assessment is complete, the WHD will use the results to develop and implement a plan to support the health and well-being of Wellesley residents with a focus on the prevention of substance use disorder, harm reduction, treatment and recovery.  Such programming COULD include programs that support recovery specialists for residents, promote harm reduction efforts like making Narcan available to residents, and prevention efforts that address the root causes of substance misuse. Once complete, the full action plan will be posted here. 

Phase III: Implementing the Action Plan

The WHD will implement the action plan. Note that implementation for some programming might be short-term, while other programs may take place over a multi-year timeframe. 

*The WHD will continuously evaluate our OSF programming  for effectiveness and relevance. The action plan will be revisited annually and  revised as appropriate to reflect new information, changes in funding levels  and program success.