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Regional opioid‑settlement survey shows mixed awareness in Concord; officials plan a community task force
Summary
A regional survey and qualitative interviews commissioned through the Great Meadows Public Health Collaborative found varied awareness of local resources in Concord, differences in strategy priorities by respondents’ lived experience, and recommendations to prioritize prevention, harm reduction and connection to care; Concord will seek representation on a planned community task force.
The Concord Board of Health on June 17 heard a regional data briefing on opioid‑settlement funds, local needs and recommended priorities from Olivia Duour, regional substance‑use prevention coordinator for the Great Meadows Public Health Collaborative.
Duour described a survey and qualitative work spanning seven towns in the region. She said Concord respondents provided a relatively high local response rate and that roughly half of survey respondents across the region reported some personal connection to the opioid crisis (for example, knowing someone affected); a smaller share reported the loss of a loved one to overdose. Duour emphasized differences in priorities by lived experience: those who had lost someone to overdose tended to rank treatment access and harm‑reduction strategies higher than respondents without that experience.
Duour summarized the seven broadly allowable spending strategies under the settlement — treatment and recovery support, connection to care, harm reduction, criminal‑justice support, services for pregnant and parenting people, and prevention/anti‑stigma work — and said the recommendation for the region was to prioritize prevention, anti‑stigma and harm reduction alongside treatment and recovery. She also said the collaborative plans to convene a regional “safe task force” made up of community members with lived experience to guide priorities and help sustain outreach and program evaluation.
Board members questioned how much the survey had translated into direct individual help so far; Duour said the work established connections with treatment and recovery resources and that her team has made direct referrals in individual cases. She also noted limitations on the data — response patterns skewed older and female — and stressed the need to reach underrepresented groups when planning interventions.
The briefing prompted board discussion about local outreach, awareness of naloxone availability and the community clinician program, and next steps for local representation on the regional task force.
