FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 24, 2025
Media Contact: Molly McKinney, Ball Consulting Group, LLC
Phone: 617-243-9950; Email: molly@ballcg.com
RIZE Massachusetts Appoints Regional Coordinators to Support Effective Utilization of Opioid Settlement Funds
BME Strategies, Central Mass Regional Planning Commission to Help Municipalities End the Opioid Overdose Crisis
BOSTON (November 24, 2025) – RIZE Massachusetts Foundation (RIZE), a nonprofit foundation solely dedicated to funding and creating solutions to end the opioid overdose crisis in Massachusetts, today announced the appointment of BME Strategies and the Central Massachusetts Regional Planning Commission as regional coordinators to support municipalities in effectively utilizing opioid settlement funds to end the overdose crisis. Approximately 40 percent of the state’s total settlement funds are directly allocated to municipalities.
BME strategies will partner with cities and towns in the Northeast and Southeast Mass. regions. The Central Mass. Regional Planning Commission will collaborate with Central and MetroWest communities. RIZE itself will coordinate with municipalities in Western Mass. and Greater Boston.
“Every opioid settlement dollar represents lives consumed by the overdose crisis and the relentless fight of families of victims to bring the companies responsible to justice,” said Julie Burns, president and CEO of RIZE. “The settlement funds must be allocated with intent to end this crisis. With collaboration among regional coordinators, municipalities, those with lived and living experience, and RIZE, we have an extraordinary opportunity to create real change and save lives through evidence-based approaches guided by community.”
The regional coordinators are part of the Municipal Training and Technical Assistance (TTA) Program through Mosaic Opioid Recovery Partnership (Mosaic). BME Strategies and the Central Mass. Regional Planning Commission will ensure municipalities throughout the Commonwealth have a trusted, local partner to support the development of strategies and solutions, rooted in their communities, to end the overdose crisis.
BME Strategies is a specialty public health consulting firm with over two decades of experience driving sustainable change rooted in community health and equity. The Central Mass. Regional Planning Commission, founded by the state Legislature in 1963, is a regional planning agency that serves 40 communities in Central Massachusetts.
“As a public health consulting firm rooted in equity and community, we are thrilled to partner with RIZE to ensure opioid settlement funds are deployed effectively and justly,” said Bryan Murphy-Eustis, founder and CEO of BME Strategies. “Our role is to listen to and elevate the voices of those with lived and living experience, helping municipalities in the Northeast and Southeast build sustainable, evidence-based strategies that save lives and address the root causes of this crisis.”
“For over 60 years, the Central Mass. Regional Planning Commission has worked alongside 40 municipalities in Central Mass. to address complex regional challenges,” said Janet Pierce, executive director of the Commission. “We’re proud to bring that experience to our partnership with RIZE, helping communities navigate this important opportunity. Every community has its own strengths and challenges, and by working together, we can make sure each one—urban, suburban, and rural alike—gets the support and resources it needs.”
Through a hub-and-spoke model, regional coordinators, or spokes, will provide insights into the unique circumstances of the municipalities they serve and offer training and technical assistance to navigate the complexities of accessing and utilizing opioid settlement funds. Spokes will appoint regional community advisory boards, comprised of individuals with lived and living experience and key stakeholders, to guide equitable strategies. RIZE will assume the role of the hub, implementing a framework with best practices, standardized assessment tools and guidelines tailored to local needs and ensuring municipalities receive comprehensive support for managing funds.
Mosaic is funded by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, Bureau of Substance Addiction Services and powered by RIZE. The funding comes from the Opioid Recovery and Remediation Fund (ORRF), which resulted from the historic legal effort to hold private companies accountable for the harms caused by the overdose crisis. Mosaic is part of a network of programs and initiatives funded by ORRF to address the impact of the overdose crisis in Massachusetts.
About RIZE Massachusetts
RIZE Massachusetts Foundation (RIZE) is solely dedicated to funding and collaborating on solutions to end the overdose crisis. Guided by those with lived and living experience and unafraid of new ideas, RIZE is building networks, creating programming, and investing in community partners who are using novel approaches to preventing overdose and increasing access to treatment and recovery supports. RIZE makes health equity a programmatic priority by addressing root causes such as racism, systemic barriers to care, and power imbalances. Learn more at rizema.org.
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