Opioid panel hears HALO plan for family aid fund

Opioid Settlement Funds Advisory Committee · Meeting of October 15, 2026

BELCHERTOWN — The Opioid Settlement Funds Advisory Committee heard a pitch for a Family Overdose Support Fund and took no votes. Chair Gail Grammarosa convened the meeting to question HALO Initiatives, whose executive director, Brendan Little, said the Boston fund served 50 people in its first full year and pays an average of $7,500 per family directly to vendors, with some payments higher. Police Sgt. Neil Lozier asked how losses would be identified, saying "I'm probably the person that will recognize a loss in Belchertown." HALO said Belchertown would be its first Western Mass contract.

Participants agreed the arrangement would be a grant, and a final agreement could come in early spring.

In the full story:

• Opening and introductions
• The HALO presentation
• Questions: scale, process and local role
• Cause of death and eligibility
• Next steps and procedure
• Who Was There
• Organizations And Documents Referenced
• The complete report: 1,122 words

Source: the Opioid Settlement Funds Advisory Committee meeting of October 15, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.

Checked against the record: before publication this article was automatically compared with the meeting transcript. It was corrected where it differed.