As Baltimore witnessed another mass overdose this week, the city is moving ahead with plans to fund community groups that help people who struggle with drug addiction.

On Thursday, the city released details about how it wants to spend the first $2 million on competitive grants for community groups from the nearly $600 million it won through a major lawsuit against opioid companies.

The news arrived just one day after at least 11 people overdosed from drugs in the Penn North neighborhood, a stark reminder of the toll of Baltimore’s unprecedented crisis. The West Baltimore neighborhood is still recovering from two mass overdoses in July that left more than 30 people hospitalized.

“Incidents like these only strengthen our commitment to ending the opioid epidemic in our city and preventing future pain and trauma,” Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott said during a news briefing Thursday.

Under the plan, the city will award grants ranging from up to $50,000 to $500,000.

It’s part of an effort to increase the availability of services for people who use drugs, including mobile drug treatment in areas that are disproportionately affected by overdoses. The city hopes to fund the expansion of harm-reduction services designed to improve safety, including the overdose-reversal medication naloxone and clean syringes that reduce the chance of spreading disease.

Part of the $2 million in grant funding will be allocated to boost wraparound programs to address housing, transportation, employment and other needs.

Sara Whaley, the city’s executive director of overdose response, said she hopes these improved services will provide help to people where they are in their neighborhoods. The goal, she said, is to prevent overdoses like the recent episodes that have called out scores of emergency personnel, captured headlines and alarmed city leaders.

The grant applications, which will open online Oct. 23, will be reviewed by an advisory board before the mayor’s office makes final decisions. Winning organizations should expect to see funds by April, city officials said.

“We know we have work to do, but we have never been in a better position to end this crisis,” Scott said.

Over the past year, the city has won $579.9 million from a judgment and settlements from opioid manufacturers and distributors. The city has 15 years to spend the proceeds, with a goal of reducing overdose deaths by 40% by 2040.

While sitting on a stoop near Penn North on Thursday morning, Leonard White, 56, said he has seen overdoses tragically become a normal part of life. As often as twice a week, he said, White and his friends help save people by administering naloxone and calling ambulances.

The city’s outlay for community groups this year did not impress White.

“Two million dollars ain’t a drop in the bucket compared to how much they got awarded,” said White, who has been addicted to opioids for more than three decades and is in treatment.

Whaley said the city must be “thoughtful and considerate about making sure the funds last.” On top of the $2 million plan announced Thursday, the city has earmarked an additional $87 million for 21 organizations as part of settlement agreements, she added.

Candy Kerr, a spokesperson for the Baltimore Harm Reduction Coalition, said groups that serve people who use drugs typically rely on grants to fund their front-line work. Despite a relatively small amount of money compared with the overwhelming need to address the city’s drug crisis, Kerr said the announcement was important because it’s coming at a critical time.

“We are incredibly lucky to still have this kind of money still available for harm reduction, because on the national scale people are losing money left, right and center,” Kerr said.

This story has been updated to correct the date for the opening of the community grant process.