City Council approves transfer of $143K to support SUDHI programs and services

Advocate Staff Report

The Revere City Council voted at their June 23 meeting to transfer $143,000 from the Opioid Abatement Trust Fund to support programs and services run through the city’s Substance Use Disorder and Homelessness Initiatives Office (SUDHI). Public Health Director Lauren Buck, Nicole Palermo and Carrieann Salemme from the SUDHI office presented some of the details of their programs.

According to Buck, Revere has $688,000 from the opioid lawsuit settlement and the city can expect $1.2 million more over the next five years. The annual budget for SUDHI programs is $243,000, but this year there was $100,000 left over from a prior appropriation. Buck said programs and services are ramping up thanks to the opioid abatement working group, which has been assessing community needs and recommending how best to spend the opioid settlement money. There have also been surveys and focus groups held prior to designing a plan.

The plan covers three key areas: prevention, harm reduction and housing. In addition to a youth prevention program, SUDHI will be providing services to address basic needs, such as laundry and personal care. A street medicine program will assign a doctor to outreach teams so that individuals can access needed medication and referrals for hospital treatment. There will also be grief support for families who have lost a loved one to an overdose.

SUDHI will continue to stock Narcan boxes posted on poles throughout the city. Since they first went up last May 1, 508 doses of Narcan have been dispensed through the boxes. Several councillors said businesses have asked to move the boxes because they don’t like the impression they send. Buck emphasized that the only use of Narcan is to reverse an opioid overdose. She also agreed with Councillor-at-Large Robert Haas, who said that most of the Narcan taken from the boxes wasn’t to stop an active overdose but was rather taken by residents who wanted to have it in case of an emergency. Salemme said 68 local businesses have agreed to store Narcan and have undergone training on how to manage it.

The budget also includes $97,000 for housing. That money can cover the cost of placing 16 individuals in a sober house or detox treatment facility.

For more information, SUDHI has a page on the Board of Health website at Revere.org.