Mayor Cherelle Parker’s administration has shut down the Overdose Prevention and Community Healing Fund, a community-driven grantmaking process that allowed Kensington residents to determine how opioid settlement funds were distributed in their neighborhood.
The $3.1 million initiative, managed by the Scattergood Foundation, funded 43 organizations in 2024 but will no longer operate under the same model. The city’s decision to discontinue this participatory funding approach raises questions about the future of Kensington opioid programs and community involvement in addressing the opioid crisis.
Instead, the Parker administration has launched a new $3.6 million grant program aimed at supporting community-based organizations in neighborhoods most affected by the opioid epidemic, including Kensington. While the program is set to be managed by the Office of Public Safety, the application process has yet to be announced, leaving local groups uncertain about their future funding and involvement in decision-making.
Scattergood Foundation officials report that they were instructed to halt the latest grant cycle, which had already received 90 applications from community members poised to select new grantees.
The foundation’s leadership, including President Joe Pyle, expressed concerns that the city’s move away from participatory funding undermines the very communities most impacted by the opioid crisis. According to Pyle, this model was a national example of how to empower communities to address local challenges.
Another initiative that is hanging in the balance is the Kensington Community Resilience Fund (KCR Fund), which Scattergood has managed since 2022. Having distributed over $1.1 million to more than 50 organizations, the KCR Fund’s latest grant cycle has been paused while the city decides whether to continue contributing opioid settlement dollars. Without the city’s support, Scattergood will proceed with private funding from philanthropic partners such as the William Penn Foundation and the Patricia Kind Family Foundation.
Residents and advocates in Kensington, including harm reduction nonprofit leaders and local grant recipients, have voiced their frustration and fears about the potential loss of funding. Many worry that the new city-led program will exclude community voices and divert resources away from harm reduction and grassroots efforts aimed at combating the opioid epidemic.
The new approach is part of the Parker administration’s broader strategy to address the opioid crisis, including creating the Kensington Neighborhood Wellness Court. Announced earlier this year through Executive Order No. 1-25, the Wellness Court aims to provide immediate diversion and treatment services for individuals arrested for drug-related offenses. While the initiative is intended to reduce incarceration and streamline access to care, community members argue it still lacks the participatory decision-making model they value.
Critics of the Parker administration’s approach warn that abandoning community-led opioid settlement grants could lead to decisions that do not align with local needs. Experts in philanthropic strategy, including Cynthia Gibson and Huong Nguyen-Yap, emphasize that funding models excluding lived experiences risk overlooking effective solutions grounded in community insight. For Kensington residents, the future of opioid settlement funding feels more uncertain than ever.
Some city officials, including Councilmember Quetcy Lozada, have indicated a willingness to work with the Parker administration to ensure grassroots groups continue to receive support. However, whether the new grant program adequately replaces the participatory model remains an open question.
