Opioid Settlement Fund

The New York State Opioid Settlement Fund, established in 2021, ensures that all funds received from opioid-related legal settlements are dedicated to opioid abuse prevention, treatment, harm reduction, and recovery services. The fund is distributed at the state, regional, and local levels to support a wide range of initiatives, including prevention programs, medication-assisted treatment, recovery housing, harm reduction services, and outreach to underserved communities. Funding is allocated through direct and indirect abatement mechanisms to maximize local impact. From 2022 to 2026, the City of Syracuse received a total of $2,975,931.43 to strengthen substance use prevention, crisis navigation, and treatment programs across the community.

The Department of Neighborhood and Business Development supports agencies with Opioid Settlement funds to expand:

case management and recovery support
access to prevention and outreach services
mobile/harm-reduction units

Budget
Description	Direct	Indirect	Total
Funds Received from NYS	$644,891.43	$2,331,040.00	$2,975,931.43
Funds Allocated to Programs	$0*	$1,652,367.00	$1,652,367.00
Funds Spent	$0*	$242,039.07	$242,039.07
Net Balance	$644,891.43	$2,089,000.43	$2,733,892.36

*Direct funds issued have not yet been allocated.

Who Received Funds So Far?

NBD awarded four organizations with two-year contracts. Below is the list of awardees including amount awarded and type of programming the funds will support:

Helio Health

Helio Health's Syracuse Crisis & Intervention Program (SCIPP) received $784,126 to support work in crisis intervention and prevention services to help reduce opioid-related harms within the City of Syracuse. Staff are trained in nonviolent crisis intervention, solution focused therapy, trauma informed practice and motivational interviewing. The SCIPP team will work with Emergency Medical Services and law enforcement to provide crisis de-escalation, distributing harm reduction kits and education, connecting to care services, and developing relationships with community members.

Onondaga County Health Department

The Onondaga County Health Department received $188,000 to support the Substance Use Initiatives (SUI) program by expanding its Syringe Services Program (SSP). The adulteration of the local opioid supply with contaminants, specifically xylazine, has exacerbated an already pressing need for wound care among people that SSP serves. The allocated funding will support hiring and training a medical professional with the SSP team on site to assess, triage, and treat wounds as well as other harm reduction services provided.

The Rescue Mission

The Rescue Mission received $240,000 for their Connections to Connection to Care Case Management Program to work with adults served at its homeless shelter. Two new Credentialed Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Counselors (CASAC) - a professional certification for individuals who provide counseling and support to those with substance abuse problems, will provide individual and group counseling sessions to shelter clients who are present with substance use disorders and mental health disabilities. The counselors will build relationships with high-risk individuals and provide supports including sharing harm reduction strategies. The funding will help the Rescue Mission offer consistent services with shelter clients and provide information on the impacts made and the barriers faced by clients.

Contact Community Services

Contact Community Services received $440,241 to implement the 911 Persons in Crisis (PIC) Navigation Program, designed to connect individuals in Central New York with vital social, emotional, behavioral, and mental health resources. The program will hire PIC coordinators within the 911 dispatch center to serve as a dedicated dispatcher for mental health and substance use related crisis calls. For 911 calls that appear to involve behavioral health crisis, PIC coordinators will receive the information, confer with dispatch as needed, and determine whether to deploy partnering mental health or opioid substance use mobile response team to the PIC. The PIC Coordinator will make deployment decisions based on availability, clinical appropriateness, and geography, and will coordinate with police and Emergency Medical Services when necessary.

Apply for Available Funding

The City of Syracuse is seeking proposals for the use of its remaining Opioid Settlement Relief Funds (approximately $2,000,000). Funds are available to agencies who work with individuals suffering from opioid abuse in the City of Syracuse and provide prevention and treatment strategies. Contracts will be for two (2) years with one (1) possible one (1) year extension requiring mutual consent from the City and the Vendor, for a total of three (3) years.