NORTHAMPTON – Harm Reduction Hedgehogs 413, a drug user support organization in western Massachusetts, is one of 18 grassroots organizations receiving a total of $3.75 million from the state through the Mosaic Opioid Recovery Partnership program.

The Northampton-based organization, also known as HRH413, received $115,000 to spend over the next three years. Co-founder and director Jess Tilley said the funds will be used to build additional leadership positions focused on marginalized communities, such as people of color and transgender people who may struggle with addiction issues.

“I would say if you look at it percentage-wise, about 70 to 80% of our clientele identify as BIPOC,” Tilley said, using the term to refer to Black, Indigenous and people of color. “I think we’re also one of the few organizations that offer safer hormone injection resources for the trans community.”

Tilley said that while addiction can affect any person regardless of their socioeconomic background, it is more difficult for people from groups that have faced discrimination in the past to navigate the recovery process.

“When there is generational trauma, people are inherently distrustful of the system,” Tilley said. “HRH is so successful because we hire people who go into communities that reflect the communities they serve.”

The Mosaic program was developed earlier this year as a collaboration between the state Department of Health’s Bureau of Substance Addiction Services and RIZE Massachusetts, a nonprofit organization working to end the opioid crisis. Grants awarded through Mosaic are intended to “support communities and populations that have historically been underserved and have experienced high rates of opioid overdose deaths,” according to a press release from Governor Maura Healey’s office.

Founded in 2019 by Tilley and Albie Park, HRH413 offers an alternative to abstinence-only programs that aim to reduce the negative consequences of drug use and respect the rights of drug users. The group responds to overdoses when someone feels that calling 911 is not an option for them, for example, out of fear of losing their housing or scholarship. Although the group is based in Northampton, Tilley said it also works with people in nearby cities like Holyoke and Springfield.

Massachusetts and other states across the country have received hundreds of millions of dollars to combat the opioid crisis as a result of lawsuits against pharmaceutical companies like Purdue Pharma that are blamed for the crisis. But Tilley said she believes it is equally important that harm reduction programs that tolerate drug use can receive funding.

“When the opioid settlement funds came into each state, they were bought up by municipalities and many rehabilitation centers who were happy to have the funding,” Tilley said. “But if you want to end overdoses, you have to give the money to people who work with active drug users.”

The $3.75 million disbursed represents the first round of funding under the Mosaic program, with two more rounds of grants to follow through the end of the fiscal year in June 2025. The state has committed to providing $5 million annually for local harm reduction initiatives over the next 18 years.

Other Western Massachusetts organizations receiving Mosaic grants this year include Choice Recovery Coaching and the Black Behavioral Health Network, both in Springfield, and the Hilltown Youth Recovery Center in Charlemont.