$20M in opioid funding granted to over two dozen groups in Suffolk County

The Gino Macchio Foundation helps those in substance use recovery overcome lesser known barriers to stable employment including paying for ride shares to take participants to work or reimbursing their employers while they are in training.

The Bohemia-based organization has worked with seven such individuals since it was founded in 2019, according to executive director Ken Daly. With $1,440,000 in new funding from Suffolk County, the foundation — named for a 25-year-old Dix Hills man who was in recovery when he was killed in a 2018 motorcycle crash — could help 100 more.

“After rehab, they have to ease back into work … we give them a boost,” Daly said of those with substance use disorders. “Every penny will be spent on an individual.”

More than two dozen organizations that perform opioid harm reduction, prevention, treatment and recovery will receive $20 million in grants to combat the crisis, Suffolk County officials announced Thursday. The money will be doled out through awards of between $50,000 and $2 million over the next three years.

The $20 million is part of approximately $200 million the county is expected to receive over two decades from settlements reached with various opioid manufactures, distributors, retailers and pharmacies. Thursday’s announcement is the second round of money after the county awarded $36 million in January.

“This didn't just happen by accident,” Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone said during a news conference in Hauppauge on Thursday. “This was the result of decisions that were made. That has had this terrible impact in our community and in our society.”

The county in August issued a request for grant proposals for programs promoting drug prevention, harm reduction, treatment and recovery. Bellone said the county received 81 applications from 57 organizations. A review committee, which included health department officials, the county executive’s office, the legislative presiding officer, the legislative minority leader and a victim advocate, approved 32 program applications as well as a $1.5 million capital improvement grant to Babylon Town, officials said.

Daly noted the Suffolk County Department of Health Services closely monitors how organizations like his spend the money and that the foundation must submit expenses for reimbursement.

The Westhampton Beach-based New Hope Rising Inc. will use a $700,000 grant to add 16 beds for those in recovery who need affordable housing options. There is a wait list for their services and the organization has helped 680 individuals since 2014, according to its COO, Lauren McNamara. Living in a supportive and stable environment is a key building block to a successful recovery, she said.

“One of the most powerful aspects of recovery housing is the power of living with their peers,” she said. “They have a common bond.”

The county awarded more than $36 million for 41 projects earlier this year, which includes $25 million for programs and $11.2 million for four infrastructure projects. Of those projects, three were harm reduction initiatives, 23 were treatment programs, 11 were prevention programs and four were recovery programs.

There were at least 420 opioid-related overdoses in Suffolk County in 2022 and 300 in Nassau County, according to figures provided by the counties.

By Vera Chinese

vera.chinese@newsday.com@VeraChinese

Vera Chinese covers Suffolk County government and politics. She joined Newsday in 2017 after working as an editor for the East End lifestyle publication northforker and a general assignment reporter for the New York Daily News.