BEVERLY, MA — Beverly will dedicate about $107,000 of its expected opioid federal lawsuit settlement funds toward a social services navigator who will be tasked with helping residents find needed support services and coordinating substance abuse services and other social programs among city departments.
The Beverly City Council on Tuesday voted to appropriate the funds toward the social services navigator position, which will be part of the health department, as well as other support initiatives, which could include Narcan boxes places throughout the city where overdoses are most prevalent.
“Basically, what this individual will do is serve as a type of social worker for the city,” Director of Health Laura DelleChiaie said. “We have individuals who can help with access to social services in the schools, the police department, the Council on Aging. But a location where we don’t have that — which is a prime location — is the health department. With those other positions, they can only serve certain populations, whether it be 60 and up, or school-age children and possibly their families, or someone suffering from substance disorder or alcohol abuse disorder.
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“But we don’t have anyone to serve our general population from 19-59, which is probably the majority of our population.”
DelleChiaie said the position will help residents find ways to empower themselves and “show we are trying to make an impact and help them (in dealing) with difficult lives.”
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Beverly Finance Director Bryant Ayles said the money available will be sufficient to fully fund the position for “a few years” before it is reevaluated. The opioid settlement fund payments go through 2038.
DelleChiaie said when it comes to something like hoarding the health department can deal with individuals in those situations through enforcement laws and regulations. But, at this point, there are no resources to provide residents with resources to cope with any underlying mental health challenges that lead to that hoarding behavior.
“We don’t want the public to see us as someone who is punishing them for their illness and disability,” she said. “We want to help. We want to be a resource for you.”
DelleChiaie said the position is being salaried at between $75,000 and $80,000 with a master’s degree and who is licensed in mental health or social work so the hire “can hit the ground running” in the position by identifying what resources exist in the community and help residents connect with them.
“Something that we want to focus on is the underserved and underprivileged communities within the city of Beverly,” she said, “so that could be our women and children, that could be people with disabilities, it could be our unhoused population, it could be our marginalized ethnic and racial groups.
“We really want to make sure we are putting equity at the forefront of the services that we are providing. The housing crisis is an issue everywhere, especially with the migrant families coming in. We were even running into more problems with our regularly unhoused individuals, so housing is always a serious issue, and definitely I see those individuals coming to this person for support and assistance.
“I understand that it’s just one person. But I think one person can make a large difference in the lives of many just having that butterfly effect where when you help one it is going to help the lives of many others.”
(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at [email protected]. X/Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)
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