Gilroy awards $237,352 opioid settlement grant to Carry the Vision after public pleas

The Gilroy City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to award $237,352 in opioid-settlement remediation funding to Carry the Vision and authorized staff to execute the grant agreement.

Council took the action after staff presented an exploratory RFP process that drew six proposals and recommended two organizations — Carry the Vision and Youth Alliance — for awards based on evaluation scores and program diversity. Staff emphasized that expenditures will be reimbursement-based and subject to review by the national settlements trust administrator and state reviewers.

Residents and program leaders urged the council to keep the funding local. "This work is deeply personal to me," Mark Ashford, program director for Rooted by Carry the Vision, said during public comment, describing healing circles and peer-mentor training. Multiple speakers with lived experience described the organizations' role in outreach, Narcan distribution and reentry support.

Councilmembers discussed administrative trade-offs between awarding funds to a single fiscal custodian versus splitting awards. Councilmember Bracco moved to award the full available amount to Carry the Vision; Councilmember Fugazi seconded. The motion and a companion resolution to amend the fiscal-year 2026 opioid settlement fund budget passed on a 6–0 roll call.

Staff told council that reimbursement requests would be submitted monthly or quarterly depending on program structure and that award agreements will include outcome measures such as numbers served, referrals and treatment retention where applicable. Staff also noted the city could claim up to 5% of funds for administrative overhead but recommended maximizing direct service dollars.

The council also authorized the city administrator to negotiate and execute grant agreements consistent with council action. The award is subject to the reimbursement and reporting requirements tied to the opioid settlement fund.