Inspiring and accelerating action to end the opioid crisis.
FORE is a national grantmaking foundation committed to convening and supporting partners advancing patient-centered, innovative, evidence-based solutions.
National Methadone Access and Quality Commission Established to Improve Access To High-Quality, Patient-Centered, Evidence-Based Treatment for OUD
FORE Awards $2 Million to Advance New Strategies Against the Opioid and Overdose Crisis Across Communities and Generations
Commentary in Health Affairs Highlights Opportunities to Advance Opioid Policy at the Local Level
A big congratulations to one of FORE`s inaugural grantees, @alisterfmartin, on being named the new Commissioner of @nychealthy.
In 2020 with FORE funding, Dr. Martin led @getwaivered, a national effort to encourage emergency medicine clinicians to get a waiver needed at the time to prescribe buprenorphine, a gold standard medication for opioid use disorder. The campaign leveraged social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, as well as behavioral science principles, to make the case for getting waivered and to start treatment in the emergency department. His efforts and advocacy would eventually help to remove the waiver requirement entirely, removing a common barrier patients faced while seeking treatment.
We look forward to working with you, Commissioner Martin!
The Foundation for Opioid Response Efforts has awarded a grant of $917,027 to @yale to establish the National Methadone Access and Quality Commission (NMAQC), a new national initiative focused on improving access to methadone, an evidence-based treatment for people with opioid use disorder (OUD).
The Commission, chaired by David Fiellin, MD, Director of @yaleaddictionmed and Professor of Medicine, Emergency Medicine, and Public Health at @yaleschoolofmed and @yalesph, brings together leading experts from #addictionmedicine, #publichealth, policy, and health care delivery, as well as individuals with lived experience of #methadone treatment for OUD, to inform policy and clinical practice change and increase public understanding of methadone treatment.
The Commission include the following members: David Feillin, MD; Malik Burnett, MD MBA MPH; Denise Curry, MPA, JD; Bridget C.E. Dooling, JD; Lucas G. Hill, PharmD, FCCP; Dominic Hodgkin, PhD; Ayana Jordan, MD, PhD; Anita Kennedy, CRPA; Michelle Lofwall, MD; Dennis McCarty, PhD; Beth Meyerson, MDiv, PhD; Robert Sherrick, MD; Kenneth B. Stoller, MD; and Zachary Talbott, LADC, LMSW
Read more about the Commission at forefdn.org.
The entire team at FORE wishes a happy holidays to our #FOREgrantees and all who are working across the nation to address the #opioid and #overdose crisis in their communities!
In the spirit of the season, FORE is pleased to highlight @casa.esperanza.ma, a bilingual and bicultural behavioral health center in Massachusetts empowering individuals and families to recover from #addiction, trauma, mental illness and other chronic medical conditions; overcome homelessness; and achieve health and wellness through comprehensive, integrated care, and support them with a holiday gift. If you would also like to support their mission, please visit https://www.casaesperanza.org/get-involved/ways-of-giving/.
This past week at the @americanpublichealth Annual Meeting, #FOREgrantees and staff presented on topics ranging from implementing innovations in maternal and child care to using drug checking to improve local responses to the #opioid and #overdose crisis.
Thank you to our partners at @amchp_dc and the @perigeefund for participating!
The Pine Ridge Reservation covers a vast area of South Dakota with limited cellphone and internet service, making it challenging for organizations that support families affected by opioid use to share expertise and resources. A grant from FORE enabled 16 organizations across the reservation to come together and share the innovative methods they are developing to promote resilience and prevent substance use disorder and overdose in youth.
The multi-sector coalition includes organizations that specialize in substance use prevention and treatment, healthcare, education, housing, and public safety. Each has a unique vantage point and means to engage Indigenous youth, who experience significantly higher rates of adverse childhood experiences that put them at heightened risk of suicide, depression, and substance use.
In a new video released in honor of Indigenous Peoples’ Day, two organizations that are part of the coalition — Project Venture and the Oglala Lakota Children’s Justice Center — describe how coalition members are working to reduce the risk of suicide and substance use by creating opportunities for young people and their families to engage in Lakota ceremony and culture.
“The families who come to us are hurting. We help them to let that emotion out by taking those who want to through ceremony that soothes the spirit,” says Arlana Bettelyoun, Executive Director of the Oglala Lakota Children’s Justice Center, a child advocacy organization. “It is profound to see how they work through things and develop an appreciation for who they are,” she says.
This week we brought together our over 120 #FOREgrantees - clinicians, researchers, first responders, people with lived experience, advocates, family members, community leaders, and more - to learn, collaborate, problem solve, and pave the way forward towards addressing the nation’s #opioid and #overdose crisis. From taking a deeper dive into the current data to practicing new communication techniques, our FORE family has left more energized than ever, ready to continue to roll up our sleeves, do the hard work, and save lives.
Recognizing An Urgent Need
The opioid crisis is impacting families and communities across the country. An estimated 123 Americans die every day (44,685 in the past 12 months) from an opioid overdose1, and an estimated 4.8 million experience an opioid use disorder2, affecting individuals, families, and communities across the nation.
Now more than ever, it is critical for us to think creatively, test new approaches, remove silos, and enhance and expand activities proven to prevent and reduce opioid use disorder.
1Provisional reported as of August 2025, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2025
2Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 2025
We are committed to convening and supporting partners advancing patient-centered, innovative, evidence-based solutions addressing the opioid crisis. With patients at the center, we are focused on promoting excellence and supporting programs and grants in four key areas: Professional education, payer & provider strategies, policy initiatives, and public awareness.
See Our Grantmaking Approach