Members of the Westport Opioid Settlement Fund Advisory Committee (OSFAC) will hold a focus group next Monday, Feb. 10, in the Westport Library’s north room. It runs from 5 to 6:30 p.m.

This is an opportunity for concerned residents to share their thoughts and ideas on the most effective ways to help Westport residents and their families prevent opioid misuse and overdoses, as well as access treatment for addiction. Input from this forum will help the committee advise the select board on how to best utilize state funds to benefit individuals and families impacted by opioid use disorder. The committee seeks Westport residents with personal experience and experts in treatment and prevention to attend this focus group to help determine the best use of settlement funds to meet our community’s needs.

Background information: As part of a historic legal effort to demand justice from private companies complicit in the harm caused by the opioid overdose crisis, the Town of Westport has received funds from the Massachusetts Opioid Recovery and Remediation Fund (MORRF) for its specific use in prevention, harm reduction, recovery support, trauma, grief, and family support. As of Sept. 1, 2024, the town has received $317,729 from the settlement, with additional funds continuing to be received through 2038. Abatement terms have been created to manage the distribution of these funds, overseen by the Commonwealth’s Executive Office of Health and Human Services.

Obtaining Westport residents’ input is essential to meeting the abatement agreement terms and in determining the best uses for these funds within the Westport community. To read the abatement agreement, visit www.mass.gov/info-details/guidance-for-municipalities-utilizing-opioid-settlement-abatement-payments.

Donna Amaral

Westport

Amaral, a Westport Board of Heath member, also chairs the Westport Opioid Settlement Fund Advisory Committee.