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Recovery advocates, councilors press for transparency in opioid-abatement spending
Summary
Speakers and councilors urged more transparency and lived-experience representation in allocation of Worcester's opioid-abatement funds; the council sent a request to the city manager for a detailed accounting and community process update.
Several residents and recovery-service providers urged the Worcester City Council to increase transparency and include people with lived experience in decisions on the city's opioid-abatement funds. Speakers described past programs that closed after short runs and expressed concern about administrative costs.
Multiple advocates asked the council to require public reporting and to invite the recovery community into allocation decisions. "We should have a say so at the table to be able to make decisions about how the money's being spent," said Malika, a resident who identified herself as a woman in recovery. Other speakers described large shares of the funds going to administrative costs rather than sustained services.
Councilors agreed to request a report from the city manager outlining allocations to date, pending allocations, and the community engagement process used to award funds. City Manager Edward Batista said the city has run an RFP process and planned a memo summarizing recipients and amounts; he invited community advocates to meet with staff to discuss program design.
Ending: The council sent the information request to administration and called for a written report and for public engagement steps to be detailed to the council and the public.
