[Mosaic Municipal TTA]

May Spotlight: Great Meadows Public Health Collaborative This month’s municipal spotlight is on the Great Meadows Public Health Collaborative (GMPHC), which undertook a deliberate, multi-method engagement process to ensure that lived and living experience was central to its regional opioid abatement planning across seven municipalities. The collaborative began with a broad community survey that reached more than 1,000 residents and intentionally expanded beyond survey data to include structured focus groups designed specifically to capture perspectives from people with histories of drug use, individuals who have supported or lost loved ones, and professionals working in substance use treatment services. In parallel, the team conducted 15 key informant interviews with stakeholders across sectors, including treatment, recovery, public safety, health care, education, and faith-based and community organizations. The focus groups and stakeholder insights were then integrated with survey findings and reviewed by a regional advisory committee before moving into planning. The resulting priorities, centered on connection to care, family and recovery supports, prevention, anti-stigma efforts, and harm reduction, reflect this intentional effort to ground regional strategy in the voices of those most directly impacted. More information on the engagement process can be found here GMPHC comprises seven municipalities: Bedford, Carlisle, Concord, Lincoln, Sudbury, Wayland, and Weston.

Learning Library In case you missed it: Mosaic has hosted a series of webinars designed to support municipalities with practical insights and tools for their day-to-day work. Below, you’ll find a collection of resources from our past two webinars, offering clear guidance and strategies that municipalities can revisit and apply in their communities. Visit our events page for more! April: Breaking Down Silos: Why Opioid Abatement Demands New Kinds of Partnerships ·    Webinar Recording ·    Slides ·    Practical Approaches for Municipal Decision-Making Structures and Pooled Funding Strategies February: Using Opioid Abatement Funds to Build Effective Peer Support Programs ·    Webinar Recording ·    Slides ·    Recovery Coaching Basics and Best Practices for Municipalities Resource

In the News STATEWIDE: ·    Healey-Driscoll Administration Awards $1.25 Million to Help Communities Address the Opioid Crisis (Mass.gov, 5/5/26) ·    Massachusetts launches new dashboard to track opioid settlement spending (WBUR, 3/11/26) NORTHEAST: ·    Ipswich, Gloucester, Rockport opioid abatement collaborative launches new website (The Local News, 4/30/26) BOSTON: ·    City showcase highlights how money from major opioid settlements is being used (The Bay State Banner, 4/1/26) METRO WEST: ·    Residents Set Priorities for Opioid Settlement Money (The Bedford Citizen, 4/10/26) WESTERN: ·    Community Conversation for Opioid Response Funding (iBerkshires, 3/26/26) ·    Mosaic grant will help remedy local impact of opioid epidemic (Athol Daily News, 3/24/26) ·    How Should $1B in Opioid Funds Be Spent? Local Officials Weigh In (Daily Hampshire Gazette, 3/19/26) SOUTHEAST: ·    Brewster Discusses Next Steps With Regional Opioid Settlement Funds (The Cape Cod Chronicle, 3/18/26) ·    Board grants $50K in opioid settlement funds to The Anchor’s wellness, recovery programs (The Hull Times, 3/19/26)

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