Mayor Domenic J. Sarno and Health and Human Services (HHS) Commissioner Helen Caulton-Harris are requesting responses from Springfield residents to the Opioid Recovery Remediation Fund Survey being conducted by the City. This survey is a critical tool in the city’s efforts to address the opioid crisis in Springfield, and resident participation will go a long way in ensuring its success.
Responses to the Opioid Recovery Remediation Fund Survey must be submitted by July 1, 2024. The survey is available online.
Included below is a letter from HHS Commissioner Caulton-Harris inviting Springfield residents to participate:
Dear Springfield Residents,
The City of Springfield requests your response to the Opioid Recovery Remediation Fund Survey that we’re conducting. This survey is a critical tool in our efforts to address the opioid crisis in Springfield, and I believe that your participation will go a long way in ensuring its success.
The Massachusetts Attorney General's office successfully litigated opioid companies for their role in driving the opioid epidemic and created the Opioid Recovery Remediation Fund (ORRF) to manage these funds. The City of Springfield is going to receive a minimum of $7 million from the ORRF over the next 15 years. This survey will help us decide how to use these funds to solve problems with opioid use. It's an important part of deciding what issues are most important and where the money should go. This is a big chance to make things better for people struggling with and impacted by opioid use.
The survey has been designed to be relatively brief and should only take 10 to 15 minutes. Please take note that the cut-off date for surveys to be submitted to us is July 1st 2024. Your responses to this survey will be kept confidential. The responses will be organized so that no single individual can be identified in the survey analysis and reports. We appreciate your participation in these efforts to address the opioid crisis in Springfield.
See link below:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/spfldORRFsurvey
Helen Caulton Harris
Commissioner of Health & Human Services
City of Springfield
Residents can visit the City of Springfield homepage and click “Opioid Recovery Remediation Fund Survey for Springfield Residents” from the menu on the left. Or visit the Health & Human Services department webpage to find the survey. Follow the City of Springfield Office of Communications Instagram page @spfldmacityhall and find the survey at the link in bio. Residents are encouraged to share the survey with family, friends, neighbors, and fellow residents.
Mayor Sarno states, “Health and Human Services Commissioner Helen Caulton-Harris and I want to encourage all Springfield residents to respond to the Opioid Recovery Remediation Fund Survey. The damage inflicted by the opioid crisis to Springfield’s most precious resource, our residents, has been tremendous and will continue to take Herculean efforts from the city, nonprofits, our community partners and stakeholders to repair. I want to thank former Attorney General, now Governor Maura Healey for her leadership and efforts in holding these pharmaceutical companies accountable for contributing to this opioid crisis. We all have or know of a family member or friend that has been affected by the scourge of opioids. Some beat it but some do not. I want to thank my dedicated city team, Sheriff Nick Cocchi and all of our community partners for their continued unyielding efforts in working together to help those get the treatment and resources they need to heal from this opioid situation. I will continue to be steadfast in working with my dedicated city team and all of our community partners and stakeholders to help those in need and secure whatever resources are necessary. Our residents’ input is an important component and I encourage all to respond by July 1st.”
