US Department of Labor awards $800K to support disaster-relief jobs, training in Massachusetts to continue state’s opioid crisis response

WASHINGTON – To support efforts to address Massachusetts’ continuing opioid crisis, the U.S. Department of Labor today announced an incremental award of $800,000 to the Massachusetts Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development to support employment and training services and disaster-relief jobs for workers in Bristol and Plymouth counties.

The National Dislocated Worker Grant funding will enable Massachusetts to continue to address the harmful impacts from the opioid crisis on the local workforce by continuing disaster-relief employment positions for community health workers, peer navigators, recovery specialists and recovery coaches. The project also provides employment and training services to people affected by the opioid crisis with a focus on training formerly incarcerated people in high-demand occupations in the maritime trade industry.

In 2022, Massachusetts reported a 2.5 percent increase in opioid-related deaths over the previous year.

In July 2021, the department announced the award of up to $2,368,337 to Massachusetts with an initial award of $800,000. The award announced today brings the total amount funded to date to $1.6 million.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services declared the opioid crisis a national public health emergency in October 2017, enabling Massachusetts to request this funding.

Administered by the department’s Employment and Training Administration, and supported by the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act of 2014, Dislocated Worker Grants provide funding to states and local communities to increase their ability to serve dislocated workers after large, unexpected economic events that cause significant job losses.