June 18, 2025 By Carol Britton Meyer
The select board this week approved a $125,000 Fiscal 2026 proposed budget from the town’s opioid settlement funds to continue successful community outreach efforts led by the Health Department and spearheaded by social worker Elizabeth Miller to address substance misuse and related issues in Hingham.
The funding comes from the town’s share of settlement funds resulting from opioid litigation brought against large pharmaceutical manufacturers and distributors by cities and towns nationwide. Available revenue for Hingham from this source totals $472,240 for fiscal 2026.
Of the budgeted amount of $125,000, $39,000 is for Miller’s salary; $26,000 for prevention; and $60,000 for recovery efforts, including post-treatment vouchers ($50,000) and support services such as transportation, $10,000.
Prevention, harm reduction, treatment, recovery
The four main categories the settlement money can be used for are prevention, harm reduction, treatment, and recovery.
Early on, Miller emphasized the importance of focusing not only on designating funding for treatment but also on prevention and post-treatment and to compile a list of qualified treatment centers and sober houses that provide the best-quality care.
Prevention efforts relate to hosting speakers, events — including popular book club meetings at Hingham Public Library and mental health awareness sessions; an Out of the Darkness walk; and sober living scholarships — with harm reduction efforts including the distribution of Narcan — which treats opioid overdose by blocking opioid receptors in the body.
Fiscal 2025 successes also include the after-school SWell (Science of Well-Being) program at Hingham High School, sponsored by the HPS Wellness Committee and funded by the Town of Hingham Mental Health Task Force.
Part of the town’s opioid settlement funds went toward expanding the town-permitted living space from two to four bedrooms to house four men at North Street Church.
All four men are in recovery and would otherwise be homeless. They are currently working fulltime, with plans to find and maintain homes of their own in the near future.
The program requires regular drug testing, compliance with house rules, and engagement with a recovery program or recovery coach.
Sober house scholarships
In all, 16 scholarships have been awarded to individuals allowing them to move into or stay within their sober home. This program services individuals who live in Hingham or have a parent/guardian who lives here.
Within a structured sober house setting, individuals in recovery are able to engage solely in a recovery program or to find and secure work to save money to be able to afford to stay in sober living for an extended period of time.
“Our biggest accomplishment is awarding sober living scholarships,” Miller said. “It’s nice to see the impacts of our efforts on so many different people.
There’s a reporting process for communities that receive settlement funds to follow to ensure the money is utilized properly.
Select board member Liz Klein praised Miller and the health team’s ongoing successful efforts, noting that “sober houses are a powerful way to spend some of the money — really impactful.”
She then asked Miller, “Are you able to meet the demand?”
“Yes,” was her response. “These funds will have an impact for many years into the future.”
In other business at the meeting
Mike Nash was appointed as full-time assistant harbormaster for this summer from among six candidates and John Algird as deputy shellfish constable.
Nash, a Hingham resident and Hingham High School graduate, grew up boating, rowing for the HHS crew team, and spending summers on Hingham waters. He has served for eight seasons as part-time assistant harbormaster.
Algird is the current harbormaster office clerk.