Opioid Recovery and Remediation Fund (ORRF) Mini‑Grant Program

The Springfield Department of Health and Human Services (SDHHS) is proud to introduce the Opioid Recovery and Remediation Fund (ORRF) Mini‑Grant Program, created to support community‑based organizations across Springfield. This program aims to strengthen and expand upstream prevention initiatives that reduce the prevalence of opioid use disorder (OUD) while complementing ongoing harm reduction, treatment, and recovery efforts.

In April 2026, SDHHS awarded the first year of funding to 14 local organizations. The programs, along with their focus areas and impact, are listed below on this page.

The Black Behavioral Health Network (BBHN):

Funded to support a culturally grounded Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) Prevention & Case Management Initiative. The initiative responds to disproportionately high overdose rates and long-standing disparities affecting African Diaspora communities. The project utilizes the evidence-based Intensive Case Management (ICM) model and a culturally aligned outreach approach led by Community Health Workers (CHWs). 

BBHN will deliver harm reduction education, naloxone distribution, warm handoffs to treatment, family engagement, and navigation of key social determinants of health (SDoH) such as housing, transportation, and employment. 

Expected outcomes include increased treatment engagement, reduced overdose vulnerability, and improved access to culturally competent services. This grant will strengthen BBHN’s capacity to build trust, coordinate services, and support healthier outcomes for residents in Springfield’s most underserved neighborhoods.

Clinical & Support Options (CSO)/ Friends of the Homeless (FOH):

CSO is integrating a reverse-motion overdose detection system into the FOH Resource Center restrooms. The project will add reverse-motion restroom safety devices to reduce the most dangerous setting for unfound overdose—locked single-stall bathrooms—an environmental prevention strategy supported by emerging research on built-environment drivers of fatal overdose. This technology will alert staff when movement stops, allowing rapid life-saving intervention.

When the alert system identifies an unwitnessed overdose, FOH’s trained staff can respond immediately with naloxone and then leverage partnerships to ensure the individual receives medical follow-up, harm reduction counseling, and access to medication-assisted treatment. These organizations are already embedded in daily FOH operations, which allows the project to improve OUD prevention without requiring new systems or external infrastructure. 

Families Against Violence (FAV): 

FAV will implement the following core activities: 

• Trauma-informed outreach and engagement with individuals, families, and youth impacted by community or interpersonal violence in the target neighborhoods 
• Individual and small-group support sessions focused on emotional regulation, coping strategies, stabilization, and reducing social isolation
• Education and stigma-reduction activities related to behavioral health, trauma, and substance use risk
• Warm referrals to Behavioral Health Network (BHN) for mental health and substance use assessment, Access Clinic services, outpatient care, and Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT), as appropriate.
• Coordination with SPCA to connect participants to housing stabilization, benefits access, food assistance, and other supports addressing social determinants of health.

Follow My Steps Foundation (FMS):

FMS will utilize staff, mentors, volunteers, and peers with lived experiences (e.g., those whose family members battled addiction/gun violence) to connect with youth on a deeper, more vulnerable level, helping them navigate away from negative paths. The leaders and staff of FMS have personal connections to the struggles and challenges the youth are facing and through personal connections, advocate to end the cycle of addiction.

FMS will aim to accomplish this through a variety of strategies bolstered by specific activities:

• Meaningful one-on-one mentorship relationships that inspire and guide youth towards academic and career success.
• Steps to Success series which provides career workshops, resume building, interview preparation, job shadowing, internship opportunities, and vocational education guidance. Also includes a financial literacy component with workshops, budgeting and savings programs.
• Girls Unite: a program designed to uplift and empower young women through monthly empowerment workshops, inspiring speakers, interactive activities to promote teamwork, leadership, and self-expression.
• Counseling - FMS utilizes a licensed facilitator to lead group therapy sessions and discussions around mental wellness.
• Step Up Fitness - in partnership with Best Fitness Springfield, group fitness sessions led by a certified Best Fitness Trainer - using as a tool for resilience, self-discipline, and personal growth. Through engaging, age-appropriate lessons woven into each session, youth learn how nutrition, hydration, and mindfulness affect their energy, focus, and confidence.

Hampden County Deputy Sheriff’s Charitable Foundation, Inc:

Funding supports the Workforce Initiative (WI) - which assists people seeking help, but prioritizes the unhoused, disenfranchised or justice involved. 

A prerequisite for the Workforce Initiative program is to register at the All-Inclusive Support Service (AISS) program (a division of the Hampden County Sheriff's Office) located in the Mason Square neighborhood. At AISS the individual not only has access to the wrap around services - but also case management, counseling, and mentors to help keep our participants engaged and motivated (their families have access as well). 

Supported by reentry staff and guided by Individual Service Plans, AISS intensive support assists clients to anticipate challenges and navigate their unique re-entry pathway. Assistance is available with: IDs, Housing, Clothing, Family matters, Relapse prevention, Lifestyle change, Navigating the Department of Children and Families and other activities

Through individualized service plans and collaboration with All Inclusive Support Services and MassHire, we systematically address these obstacles to maximize each participant’s potential for long-term success.

Hispanic American Library, Inc.:

Will engage in the following prevention services and strategies:

• Low-Barrier Screening and Engagement, along with drop-in conversations with a bilingual peer navigator using brief, non-stigmatizing questions to identify stress, grief, substance use, and OUD risk. 
• Collaborative development of action steps with each participant, including identifying appropriate OUD, mental health, or social service providers.
• On-the-spot assistance with phone calls, appointment scheduling, and follow-up reminders to reduce service drop-out.
• Small-group and one-on-one sessions on overdose recognition, naloxone, and safer-use information.
• Psychoeducation on depression and anxiety, with a focus on how untreated mental health issues increase OUD risk and overdose vulnerability.
• Targeted outreach during peak transit times inside Union Station (and its surrounding areas) and at library entry points to reach high-risk, transient populations (e.g., people experiencing homelessness, day laborers, youth).

Indian Orchard Citizens Council (IOCC):

IOCC will implement a multi-pronged prevention strategy rooted in trauma-informed care, peer-led engagement, and culturally responsive programming. Key services include:

• Community-based wellness workshops co-hosted with Terry Rodriguez Wellness Center, focusing on emotional regulation, harm reduction, and recovery planning.
• Individualized recovery coaching and resource navigation led by Recovery Through Innovation, tailored to each participant's goals and barriers
• Family-centered support circles and maternal wellness programming facilitated by Listening with Love, designed to strengthen intergenerational resilience
• Youth engagement activities in partnership with local schools and libraries, including storytelling, mentorship, and creative expression
• Mobile outreach and referral coordination targeting overdose hotspots, ensuring access to Narcan, treatment referrals, and follow-up care

Michael J. Dias Foundation:

Michael J. Dias Foundation was provided funding to help support a portion of their Assistant Director of Operations' salary, a role central to keeping residents connected to treatment, community partners, and healthy routines. The funding helps them deepen the consistency and connection residents rely on during their most vulnerable transitions.

The funding helps provide structured, community-based prevention services to reduce the risk of relapse, strengthen protective factors, and support stability for men in recovery living in the McKnight and Forest Park neighborhoods. The Assistant Operations Manager delivers prevention strategies directly within the sober homes. This ensures consistent and accessible support for residents. Key prevention services include: 

• Regular individual check-ins and early-intervention support. 
• Structured peer support and fellowship activities. 
• Coordination with treatment and recovery partners. 
• Life-skills support to address social determinants of health. 
• Community engagement and volunteer participation.

Men of Color Health Awareness (MOCHA):

MOCHA were funded to undertake a project to better understand the actual barriers to reaching men of color and their children in Springfield regarding education about and empowerment in substance use prevention by speaking with the impacted population directly. 

They will focus on identifying their knowledge about opioid/substance use and cessation, their feelings of empowerment around these issues, how they feel it relates to their family, and their connection to educational resources. This will result in a dataset that will be turned into a visually appealing, accessible, public-facing report detailing 3-4 challenges that men of color and their children face regarding substance use, prevention, and cessation in Springfield and how these barriers may be overcome to develop more equitable and effective educational offerings.

MOCHA will then circulate this full-spectrum report to the public and community-based nonprofits, public safety organizations, and public health partners. Building on learnings from speaking with the population, MOCHA staff will develop a 2Gen “Resilience Toolbox” containing tools, approaches, and education on opioid/substance policy and cessation, as well as the trauma-informed, evidence-based MOCHA Public Health Model. The Toolbox will be created as a standalone model and will also be integrated into MOCHA’s existing mentoring and public health programming, including their new youth mentoring program. 

Roca, Inc.:

Roca will implement a prevention strategy centered on Rewire CBT, Roca's non-clinical, relationship-based cognitive behavioral therapy model delivered through frequent, real-time engagement with the highest-risk young adults. Trained youth workers will provide consistent, individualized skill-building and coaching in community settings and during daily life moments, focusing on emotional regulation, cognitive flexibility, and behavior activation. These services directly target the underlying drivers of opioid use by helping participants identify triggers, slow down impulsive decision-making, disrupt harmful think-feel-do cycles, and practice safer coping strategies before substance use escalates to crisis, relapse, or overdose.

Youth workers engage in persistent, relationship-based outreach to maintain contact with participants who are often transient, justice-involved, and disconnected from traditional systems. Through the combined delivery of Rewire CBT, relentless engagement, and employment-based stabilization, the project strengthens protective factors that reduce opioid use risk while supporting young people to build the behavioral and economic stability necessary to sustain prevention gains over time.

Springfield Pride Parade Organization (SPPO):

The Springfield Pride Parade Organization (SPPO) was awarded funds to support the IGNITE & Future Sparks Youth Program. The funding helps to expand evidence-informed after-school programming at the Springfield Public Schools (SPS) that they currently serve, directly benefiting 150 students annually.

IGNITE & Future Sparks incorporate social-emotional learning (SEL), future readiness, leadership development, digital literacy, and identity-affirming mentorship — all of which are recognized protective factors against substance misuse. These supports are cited as especially critical for LGBTQ+ youth who disproportionately experience social isolation, trauma, bullying, and limited access to affirming adults. Programming is designed to strengthen protective supports, reduce unstructured after-school time, and engage students in consistent, positive, community-centered programming.

IGNITE & Future Sparks provide 36 weeks of after-school programming, 3 days per week, serving 150 LGBTQ+ and allied youth annually. 

Strong Young Minds Inc.:

Strong Young Minds was awarded funding to provide programming that will serve Black and Latino youth ages 12–21 living in Springfield’s CDBG-eligible neighborhoods, including Mason Square, Bay, McKnight, Six Corners, Old Hill, and Upper Hill. Strong Young Minds will utilize 980 Bay Street as a community hub where youth feel safe and supported. School-based workshops will be delivered directly within Springfield schools to remove transportation barriers. Neighborhood mentors will model positive identity, work ethic, and leadership in ways that resonate culturally with youth. The initiative will also host community events and youth-led prevention campaigns that reinforce messaging across the neighborhoods where youth live, learn, work, and socialize. This design ensures prevention reaches youth in the environments most connected to their daily lives.

The Escaping the Trap Initiative that they plan to utilize contains four integrated tracks: School-Based Prevention Track: Weekly anti-vaping and drug-prevention workshops; Leadership and decision-making skill building; Youth-led campaigns addressing peer norms Healing & Mental Health Track; Trauma-informed healing circles; Group discussions on coping, identity, stress, and resilience; Referral pathways for youth with elevated needs Career & Community Mentorship Track; Mentoring by barbers, stylists, DJs, artists, realtors, and entrepreneurs; Workshops on discipline, work ethic, self-presentation, and identity; Exposure to positive, substance-free career environments

They also plan on having a Community Prevention Summit with youth speakers and prevention messaging, healing-centered activities and community service connections and collective action.

Travis Best Foundation:

The Travis Best Foundation was awarded funding to support their 2026 Best in the City Summer Basketball & Wellness Program. This program serves youth ages 12–16 from Springfield’s CDBG eligible neighborhoods, including families experiencing homelessness and those impacted by opioid misuse. Youth receive basketball training, social-emotional learning, trauma-informed mentorship delivered by the coaching team, and participate in a structured peer-to-peer support model. Each program day includes light breakfast, lunch, and dinner, ensuring food-insecure youth have consistent nutritional support. 

The program runs two sessions each summer, three days per week, 9 AM–4 PM, during July and August. Each session serves 100 youth, for a total of 200 youth served. Services include: • High-quality basketball training

• SEL lessons integrated into daily activities 
• Peer-to-peer support and leadership development 
• Trauma-informed behavior management and coaching 
• Daily light breakfast, lunch, and dinner 
• Resource sharing and referrals for families experiencing homelessness or opioid misuse.

Women of Color Health Equity Collective (WOCHEC):

WOCHEC was awarded funding to enhance their Madrina Project, which provides services to Spanish-speaking and Afro-Latine pregnant and parenting individuals in Springfield who have a history of substance use disorder (SUD) or are at elevated risk of postpartum relapse or overdose.

Participants would include Latine women, birthing people, and families residing in low-income households and facing compounded barriers to perinatal recovery support. WOCHEC highlights that Spanish-speaking and Afro-Latine families experience disproportionately high barriers to behavioral health care, including linguistic exclusion, racialized stigma, fear of punitive child welfare involvement, and a lack of culturally and linguistically concordant addiction services. These inequities increase vulnerability to untreated perinatal mental health needs, relapses, and overdose.

As part of the enhanced programming, WOCHEC would plan to utilize the Madrina Project to advance upstream prevention by addressing root causes of perinatal relapse and overdose. The Madrina Project will integrate Mothering from the Inside Out (MIO), an evidence-based, attachment-focused intervention developed to support mothers in recovery from substance use disorder. MIO improves reflective functioning, emotional regulation, and sensitivity to children’s cues—factors shown to reduce relapse and strengthen parent–child attachment. In partnership with licensed clinical consultants, the WOCHEC would deliver MIO training in Spanish to ensure that both bilingual and Spanish-dominant providers can implement the model effectively.