HALO Initiatives Receives $1.25 Million Mosaic Family Resilience Grant to Offer
Financial Support to Massachusetts’ Families Impacted by Fatal Overdose

Boston, MA — On October 1st, 2025, the Mosaic Opioid Recovery Partnership (Mosaic) awarded Healing After Loss to Overdose Initiatives – HALO Initiatives – a $1,250,000 Family Resilience Grant. The grant will be distributed over three years and will allow HALO Initiatives to expand successful efforts in Boston to other geographically representative areas of the Commonwealth, as well as strengthen its organizational capacity for greater impact. Mosaic is a public-private collaboration funded by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health’s Bureau of Substance Addiction Services, and is powered by the RIZE Massachusetts Foundation. The partnership funds community-led initiatives that address the overdose crisis in communities most impacted, guided by people with lived and living experience. All Mosaic funds come from funds obtained through Massachusetts’ litigation against opioid manufacturers, marketers, and distributors.

Founded in 2025 as a collaboration with, and a program of the Boston BullPen Project., HALO Initiatives (HALO) provides immediate financial support to individuals after a family member’s fatal overdose by assisting with funeral expenses, behavioral health bills, child wellness costs, and legal fees. These investments are designed to meet an immediate need and assure grieving families that they are not alone during their time of grief. HALO aims to use intentional financial support to foster community resilience and mitigate trauma related to overdose loss.Founded in 2025 as a collaboration with, and a program of the Boston BullPen Project., HALO Initiatives (HALO) provides immediate financial support to individuals after a family member’s fatal overdose by assisting with funeral expenses, behavioral health bills, child wellness costs, and legal fees. These investments are designed to meet an immediate need and assure grieving families that they are not alone during their time of grief. HALO aims to use intentional financial support to foster community resilience and mitigate trauma related to overdose loss.

HALO’s Co-Directors and Co-Founders Brendan Little and Elsa Gomes Bondlow unofficially began their work in 2021 as a grassroots response to increased overdose deaths and rising poverty. In 2024, the City of Boston and Boston Public Health Commission announced that it would create the Family Overdose Support Fund to support Boston families in the wake of fatal overdose. Little and Bondlow partnered with Boston BullPen Project’s CEO (and HALO Co-Founder) Steve Alperin, and the team applied to co-create and co-manage Boston’s fund. Their application was granted and work officially launched in January 2025. This made Boston the first US community to exclusively use opioid litigation funds for family support after fatal overdose. Since its inception, HALO has supported nearly 50 Boston-based families with funeral assistance, child wellness programs, behavioral health care, and legal services. Mosaic’s transformative investment will enable HALO to scale its model statewide, ensuring that families across Massachusetts can access timely, compassionate support in the aftermath of overdose loss.

“Financially supporting families after loss to overdose is critical because it addresses an unmet need, ” said Brendan Little, Co-Founder and Co-Director of HALO Initiatives. Little formerly served as Policy Director for the City of Boston’s Office of Recovery Services. He personally lost many friends and family to overdose and has lived experience with substance use disorder and homelessness. He continued, “Additionally, we view HALO’s work as a form of reparation for the injustices of the opioid epidemic, and a means to foster stronger communities. We are incredibly grateful for Mosaic’s support and look forward to scaling our work throughout the Commonwealth. ”

“This moment builds on a philanthropic journey that began with the Social Equity Access Fund (SEAF), which I launched in 2020 to bridge urgent needs and overlooked resources, ” said Elsa Gomes Bondlow, Co-Founder and Co-Director of HALO Initiatives. “What started as a quiet act of justice for grieving families in Boston has grown into a statewide movement. With Mosaic’s support, HALO aims to serve as the backbone for a network of trusted partners, ensuring that no family suffers in silence. Compassion defines HALO’s response to overdose loss. ”

“When we started the Boston Bullpen Project, it was about answering the call in the moment — stepping in with fast, flexible assistance when every other door was closed, ” said Steve Alperin, CEO of Boston BullPen Project. “That same spirit is at the heart of HALO. To see this idea grow into a statewide network of support for families who have lost a loved one to overdose is humbling, and it makes me proud that Bullpen was part of its incubation and design, ” he continued.

With Mosaic’s partnership, HALO seeks to coordinate a “Massachusetts Family Support Model” — a care continuum developed in collaboration with critical partners including Learn to Cope, The Sun Will Rise, SADOD, MADMOMS, MAPS, and the Louis D. Brown Peace Institute.

With Mosaic’s partnership, HALO seeks to coordinate a “Massachusetts Family Support Model” — a care continuum developed in collaboration with critical partners including Learn to Cope, The Sun Will Rise, SADOD, MADMOMS, MAPS, and the Louis D. Brown Peace Institute.

Together, this coalition will connect grieving families to immediate financial relief and long-term healing, while advising municipalities on how to use opioid settlement funds to strengthen family resilience.

This kind of partnership uplifts years of community engagement from multiple Massachusetts stakeholders. It prioritizes voices closest to the pain, and showcases positive social change with opioid litigation money. All of our grassroots partner organizations were born out of an urgent need that public resources could not address, which empowered us to support networks from scratch. We hope that through our organization’s present efforts, combined with a further partnership with RIZE, a clear family care continuum model will emerge. We anticipate that this model could serve as a guide to other communities, including Massachusetts cities and towns, as well as other states.

“HALO Initiatives is part of a cohort of community-led organizations working to address trauma and build family resilience across the Commonwealth, ” said Julie Burns, President & CEO of RIZE Massachusetts Foundation. “Together through Mosaic, we are investing $15 million in programs that center families, reduce stigma, and create pathways for healing. ”

HALO will join fellow grantees at Putting the Pieces Together, a statewide convening hosted by Mosaic in Ashland on October 8, and will participate in a kick-off call later this month with Mosaic’s technical assistance and evaluation partners. For more information on HALO Initiatives and its programs, visit haloinitiatives.org. To learn more about Mosaic Opioid Recovery Partnership, visit mosaic.rizema.org.

About HALO Initiatives

Healing After Loss to Overdose (HALO) Initiatives provides direct financial and emotional support to families in Massachusetts who have lost a loved one to overdose. HALO offers assistance for funeral expenses, child wellness, behavioral health, and legal services, with the goal of breaking cycles of trauma and supporting intergenerational healing.

About Mosaic Opioid Recovery Partnership
Mosaic Opioid Recovery Partnership is a public-private collaboration funded by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, Bureau of Substance Addiction Services, and powered by the RIZE Massachusetts Foundation. Mosaic funds community-led initiatives that address the overdose crisis in communities most impacted, guided by people with lived and living experience.

About Boston BullPen Project
Boston BullPen Project provides specific support at critical junctures for struggling
families and individuals. We are committed to meeting these urgent needs, with the
ultimate goal of improving the overall quality of life. Paying it forward is an essential
element of Boston BullPen Project’s mission.

Media Contact:
Brendan Little
brendan@haloinitiatives.org
617-840-618