Residents of Lincoln and six other towns are being asked to take surveys that will shape how the towns will spend their shares of the legal settlements with opioid companies and Johnson & Johnson.
Massachusetts is receiving more than $900 million from the 2021 settlements, all of which is intended for substance use prevention and treatment efforts. Local municipalities are receiving 40% of the funds, or about $360 million. Annual payments vary and are determine by the state, and Lincoln averages about $20,000–$25,000 annually, according to Assistant Town Administrator Dan Pereira.
Lincoln is part of the Great Meadows Regional Public Health Collaborative with Wayland, Sudbury, Weston, Concord, Bedford, and Carlisle. Within that group, the SAFE Initiative (Substance Awareness for Everyone) intends to look at regional responses to the opioid problem. Surveys are being conducted in all of the towns and the data will be used to develop both regional and local programs.
The anonymous survey for Lincoln, which takes about 10 minutes to complete, will help the town understand community priorities for spending opioid settlement funds. Public Health Nurse Tricia McGean, the Health Department, and Pereira represent Lincoln on the collaborative and will work with other Lincoln officials and SAFE to guide investments in prevention, treatment, recovery, and related services.
The SAFE team expects to close the survey before the end of 2025 and will publish results sometime in 2026 once they’ve had time to analyze the data.
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