MDHHS director visits Grand Rapids Red Project to highlight innovative opioid harm reduction efforts funded by opioid settlement dollars

LANSING, Mich. – Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) Director Elizabeth Hertel visited the Grand Rapids Red Project today to learn about the organization’s innovative harm reduction strategies, supported by opioid settlement fund dollars, as part of the state’s broader effort to save lives by preventing opioid overdose deaths and reducing the spread of infectious disease.

“We are committed to supporting community partners who are meeting people where they are and providing compassionate, evidence-based care,” said Hertel. “The Grand Rapids Red Project is an example of how innovative harm reduction programs can reduce overdose deaths, improve health and connect individuals with treatment and recovery services when they are ready.”

A recent modeling study by MDHHS illustrates how harm reduction programs have led to significant reductions in overdose deaths, hospitalizations and cases of hepatitis C in Michigan.

During the visit, Hertel met with staff, peers and clients to learn about the organization’s approach to providing substance use disorder (SUD) treatment and resources. She also toured outreach spaces and a mobile health unit that brings life-saving services directly to people in the community.

This visit highlighted how local organizations are expanding harm reduction initiatives with support from opioid settlement funding and other state investments that are designed to save lives and improve health outcomes. Provisional data projects a 47% reduction in overdose death rates in 2025 compared to the 2021 peak, indicating overdose deaths have continued to decline for the fourth consecutive year. Current projections estimate fewer than 1,800 overdose deaths annually in 2025, down from more than 3,000 deaths in 2021, placing Michigan among the nation’s best-performing states in reducing overdose deaths.

“Support from MDHHS and state leadership has vastly increased our ability to address negative outcomes from substance use in our community,” said Steve Alsum, Grand Rapids Red Project executive director. “It’s been a game changer across our state. Evidence continues to show that harm reduction interventions like naloxone distribution, syringe access and drug checking are extremely cost-effective means to keep our communities safe.”

The FY 2026 budget includes more than $131 million from the Opioid Healing and Recovery Fund to support harm reduction, treatment and recovery services. More than $25 million is being used to support harm reduction agencies, diversion, law enforcement training and naloxone distribution.

MDHHS has supported the Grand Rapids Red Project’s harm reduction work addressing SUD with $4.2 million between FY 2024 and FY 2026.

Michigan is slated to receive more than $1.8 billion from national opioid settlements by 2040, with half being distributed to the State of Michigan Opioid Healing and Recovery Fund and the other half being distributed directly to county, city and township governments across the state. The FY 2027 budget proposal includes more than $117.7 million.

Harm reduction agencies now operate in more than 115 sites across the state, up from five in 2017, helping to reduce infectious disease spread and prevent overdoses through the support of opioid settlement funds.

Additional information about how funds are invested is available on the opioids settlement website. 

For more information on harm reduction agencies and the services they provide, please visit Michigan.gov/SSP. For more information about SUD and opioid resources, visit Michigan.gov/SUD.