Bangor applicants press subcommittee for opioid-settlement dollars to sustain recovery, treatment and basic needs

Members of the Bangor City OBOA settlement funds subcommittee heard nearly three hours of public input July 1 from recovery organizations, shelters, prevention advocates and volunteers seeking allocations from opioid-settlement money.

Speakers described urgent operating shortfalls, program cuts and requests for multi-year support to sustain peer-run recovery services, outpatient treatment, a low‑barrier emergency shelter, prevention programming tied to the new YMCA facility and basic needs operations such as food and furniture distribution.

The most urgent plea came from Together Place, a peer-run recovery center. Joseph Hartel, executive director of Together Place, said the center’s operating funds “will only carry us a few more months” and asked the committee to allocate settlement dollars to keep its doors open. Hartel said Together Place has cut its budget from about $400,000 to $250,000, reduced staff and is seeking funds to maintain existing services and expand outreach and volunteer coordination. He told the committee the center serves “between 300 to 500 unduplicated individuals each month,” which he estimated at approximately 4,800 people annually.

Several…