October 18, 2024: Issue 20
Offering hope and help to those impacted by opioid misuse in
Franklin County and the North Quabbin Region.
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"Healthcare Hopes to Start Medication Delivery Service "
Greenfield Recorder (10/12/24)
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The Community Health Center of Franklin County’s CEO used a meeting of people dedicated to community health improvement to explain how the nonprofit she oversees expects to expand its reach with a new location in Turners Falls, a medication delivery service and a mobile health unit.
Dr. Allison van der Velden, one of the speakers at a Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP) gathering hosted by the Franklin Regional Council of Governments on Thursday afternoon, said plans are taking shape to grow the health center — which currently has offices in Greenfield and Orange — by as much as a third within three years. The hope is to open the Turners Falls location at 8 Burnham St. in December.
“It’s a large facility,” van der Velden told the roughly 20 guests in the William B. Allen II Meeting Room. “We’re going to by having three to four providers in that location and there’s going to be a little bit of room to grow for us, over time.”
The center bought the property at 8 Burnham St., which was previously owned by Baystate Franklin Medical Center, for $825,000 in the summer of 2023.
Van der Velden said the location will likely add 2,000 patients to the health center’s capacity in the first year and 4,000 after two to three years.
She said there are also plans for a pharmacy offering delivery services to be located in the Health Center Plaza in Orange. “It’s going to really improve coordination of care for patients,” she said. “The pharmacist is a key player in the health care team.”
Van der Velden also mentioned that a mobile health unit— a truck or van that would visit priority areas like farms and the county’s western portion — is in the planning phase. It would have two exam rooms, one primary care provider and an auxiliary staff. The unit would expand capacity by 1,000 patients.
Van der Velden explained community health centers are nonprofit, patient- governed organizations that provide comprehensive primary care to America’s medically underserved communities, serving all patients regardless of income or insurance status.
According to van der Velden, health centers served a record 31.5 million patients in 2022. She reported that one in 11 Americans are health center patients — 19% are uninsured, 61% are publicly insured, 90% are low-income, 41% are rural residents, and 64% are members of racial and/or ethnic minority groups.
Currently, nine out of the center’s 12 board members are also patients. The center offers primary care, dental care, behavioral health care, and enabling services such as insurance enrollment support and transportation.
“We just don’t put a lot into marketing, the way other health care institutions may,” van der Velden said.
(STAFF PHOTO/DOMENIC POLI)
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"North Quabbin Recovery Center Completes Collage Showing Those Battling Addiction "
Athol Daily News (10/14/24)
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Going past 416 Main St. in Athol, there is a collage of faces adorning a storefront window – faces you might even recognize. The people in those pictures range from blue collar workers to white collar professionals, from the homeless to the well-healed. Yet, despite their differences, the faces staring back all have one thing in common. All have fought with addiction, a battle which some of them have lost.
“For Overdose Awareness Month and Recovery Month, we had this idea for this collage of people who are in recovery and also people who have lost their lives to addiction,” said Sarah Collins, North Quabbin Recovery Center Program Director, who also serves as assistant director of the North Quabbin Community Coalition. The NQCC oversees operations of the recovery center. “So, everybody whose photo is black and white has lost their life as a direct result of addiction,” explained Recovery Connector Liaison Heather Taylor. “Those whose pictures are in color are folks in recovery. The difference of the black and white versus the color is pretty overwhelming; as you can see from the collage, there are more in black and white.”
Taylor added that the collage is made up of “close to 100” pictures.
“The pictures represent a wide variety of folks who have been in recovery in this community as well as in other communities,” said Taylor. “These are not all folks who have walked through our doors necessarily, but they’re all folks who have been impacted by addiction and recovery.” Asked about feedback on the project, Collins said, “We really wanted to make it a community conversation piece….It will show that addiction is a bigger issue than what people are talking about. There really isn’t anyone who isn’t impacted by addiction in one way or another. This has really been a catalyst for those conversations.”
Collins said the project was led by Taylor and assisted by the community. “This beautiful collage put together with help from other peer specialists really has sparked conversation and feedback.” Collins said some people approached the NQRC to volunteer their pictures for inclusion in the collage. “There were those who said, ‘I want to have my picture up there so everyone knows I’ve had my own encounters with substances.’ Others would ask, ‘Do I want to acknowledge that my family member passed away as a result of their struggle?’ Many people have made those decisions for the first time in their lives,” she said. “It’s so powerful.”
Collins added that she, Taylor, and others at the recovery center hope the collage will continue to generate conversations about addiction and recovery in the community, as well as “generate other opportunities where people feel safe in our community – in North Quabbin – saying, ‘Yes, I have overcome addiction with the support of places like the recovery center or the coalition or whoever it may be that made recovery possible. I think the main goal of the collage was that it become a symbol of hope. We’re hoping moving forward that we can put up more pictures – more color pictures – of people in recovery.”
(STAFF PHOTO/GREG VINE)
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UPCOMING OTF COMMITTEE & WORKGROUP MEETINGS | |
Virtual: Emergency Services for Unhoused Individuals Task Force
October 21, 2024
9:30 AM - 10:45 AM
Zoom details here.
Hybrid: Sexual Exploitation & Trafficking Workgroup
October 21, 2024
1:00 PM - 2:00 PM
Franklin County Reentry Center
106 Main Street, Greenfield
Zoom details here.
Virtual: Harm Reduction Workgroup
November 1, 2024
11:00 AM - 12:00 Noon
Zoom details here.
Virtual: Treatment & Recovery Committee
November 3, 2024
10:00 AM - 11:30 AM
Zoom details here.
Virtual: Healthcare Solutions Committee
November 8, 2024
10:00 AM - 11:30 Noon
Zoom details here.
Virtual: Education & Prevention Committee
November 12, 2024
9:30 AM - 11:00 AM
Zoom details here.
Hybrid: Public Safety & Justice Committee
December 2, 2024
1:00 PM - 2:00 PM
Franklin County Reentry Center
106 Main Street, Greenfield
Zoom details here.
Virtual: CAM Workgroup
December 10, 2024
11:00 am - 12:00 pm
Zoom details here.
Virtual: Methadone Workgroup
December 12, 2024
3:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Zoom details here.
Virtual: Housing & Workforce Development Committee
December 13, 2024
10:00 AM - 11:30 AM
Zoom details here.
Virtual: Building a Resilient Community Workgroup
December 18, 2024
11:00 am - 12:00 pm
Zoom details here.
Consult our website or Facebook Page for updates. Please email us with any questions!
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FEATURED EVENTS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS | |
CONNECT: Post-Opioid Overdose Outreach Services | |
Time Sensitive Announcements | |
October 18 and 25 Story Time | |
October 18 Communities That Care Coalition 2024 Student Health Survey Data Release | |
October 18 Wildflower Alliance Halloween Dinner and a Movie | |
October 19 Stone Soup Cafe Menu | |
October 19 Franklin County Fall Food Festival | |
October 19 Slow-Stitched Journal Covers | |
October 19 Art Garden Celebration | |
October 19 Create Your Own Grapevine Wreath | |
October 19 Traces of the Trade | |
October 19 NELCWIT Presents A Family-Friendly, Spooky Season Celebration of Survivor Resilience for Domestic Violence Awareness Month with A Screening of the Addams Family | |
October 19 Fall Volunteer Trail Workday at the Poplar Mountain Conservation Area | |
October 19 Celebrate Kirsten! | |
October 20 Tote Bag Workshop | |
October 20 Erving Family Playtime | |
October 21 IEP Binder Workshop | |
October 22 The Housing Rights of Immigrant Families
Click Here to Register
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October 22 Understanding Disability History & Culture | |
October 22 Becoming Kin - Woodlands Partnership Book Club | |
October 22 Start Date for Empower Us Group for Teen Girls | |
October 22 & October 29 NQRC Arts & Crafts | |
October 22 & October 29 Grandparents Raising Teens | |
October 24 Creepy Half Day Hangout for Middle Schoolers | |
October 24 Evidence-Based Practices to Prevent Overdose with
Alexander J. Walley, MD. MSC
You can register for this free event here
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October 24 Practical Magic Series with Kaia - Potion Bottles | |
October 24 Montague Center Library Book Club | |
October 25 Moms' Connection | |
October 25 The Recover Project Halloween Dance | |
October 26 National Prescription Drug Take Back Day | |
October 27 Halloween Extravaganza | |
October 28 October Book Discussion | |
October 28 King Philip's War In Your Backyard with David Brule | |
October 29 All-Abilities Social Halloween Dance Party | |
October 29 New Salem Public Library presents Mysterious Massachusetts! | |
October 30 Office of Northwestern Distract Attorney David E. Sullivan 10th Safe and Healthy School Summit | |
October 30 West Couty's Community Resource Fair | |
October 30 3rd Annual Halloween Bash | |
October 31 Overdose Prevention & Narcan Training
Register here
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October 31 Shelburne Falls Rag Shag Parade | |
October 31 Ashfield's Trunk or Treat | |
October 31 Halloween in Downtown Greenfield | |
November 2 Archaeology Month at Wendell State Forest | |
November 4 Greenfield Healing Clinic | |
November 4 Let's Sew Slithering Snakes! | |
November 6 (1st of four sessions)
When Conversation Turns to Suicide
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November 7 Help When It's Needed Most: Addiction Consult Services at Baystate Franklin Medical Center | |
November 8 Safe Stage of Life: Empowering Older Adults Through Supportive Conversations | |
November 9 Adult Dodgeball Tournament | |
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MONTHLY WORKSHOP CALENDRS AND WEEKLY STANDING MEETINGS/EVENTS | |
October at The Art Garden | |
October at The Brick House
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October Community Action Family Center Calendar
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October Events at the Erving Senior Center | |
October Programs at Franklin County Reentry Center | |
October Programs - Great Falls Discovery Center | |
October Montague Public Library Programs | |
October Events at Sunderland Public Library | |
October Union 28 Community Network for Children Program Calendar | |
LifePath Healthy Living 2024 Fall Workshops | |
2024 Seeds of Solidarity Calendar of Events | |
SNAP Application Assistance | |
Parenting Well When You Are Not Feeling Well | |
Always Open! Community Labyrinth in Greenfield | |
What's Happening at The NQRC | |
RECOVER Project Groups At a Glance | |
Weekdays All Recovery Meeting at The RECOVER Project | |
Mondays September 9 - October 28 Functional Training Fitness Class for Adults | |
Mondays September 9 - November 11 Lasting Lifestyles | |
Monday/Wednesday/Friday
The Community Closet at The Franklin County Reentry Center
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Monday - Friday
Movement Group with North Quabbin Recovery Center Peer Leaders
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Mondays North Quabbin Patch Parents' Council | |
Mondays Breaking Barriers at the Franklin County Reentry Center | |
Mondays Art Guild Meetings | |
Mondays Advanced Manufacturing Info Sessions | |
Monday Drug Court Alumni Group - North Quabbin | |
Mondays Community Yoga at Wildflower Alliance | |
Mondays at FCSO Reentry Center - Recovery Through Creativity | |
Mondays CNC Playgroup at the Erving Public Library | |
Second Mondays of the Month - North Quabbin B.R.A.V.E. Task Force Meetings | |
Mondays Alternatives to Suicide Group | |
2nd and 4th Mondays Parenting Together at the Brick House | |
Third Monday Alphabet & Allies | |
Third Monday Parenting With Pride | |
Mondays and Thursdays Hygiene Supplies Pick Up at the Brick House | |
Mondays and Thursdays The Brick House Food Pantry | |
Tuesdays September 10 - October 29 Healing Trauma | |
Tuesdays Nurturing Program for Families in Recovery | |
Tuesdays Peer-Led Grief and Loss Circle | |
Every Other Tuesday - Housing Support Drop In Hours | |
First Tuesday - Dads' Group at Valuing Our Children | |
Tuesday Tea Time & Community Resource Drop-In | |
Tuesdays North Quabbin Recovery Center Coffee Hour | |
Tuesdays Greenfield Suicide Loss Group | |
First Tuesday - P.A.R.T. Task Force | |
Tuesdays Drop-In Knitting & Sewing Sessions | |
2nd Tuesdays New Member Orientation at the RECOVER Project | |
Tuesday & Thursdays Weekly Reentry Groups | |
Tuesday Men's Anger Management Group
Wednesday Women's Anger Management Group
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Wednesdays September 11 - October 30 Women's Writing Group | |
Wednesdays September 18 - December 11 Nurturing Fathers Group | |
Wednesdays - Wendell Library Playgroup with Sylvia | |
Wednesdays - Playgroup at the Leverett Library with Gillian | |
Wednesdays HEROES Study Hub at GCC | |
First Wednesday of the month Gentle Yoga and Breathwork with Jennifer | |
Whatever Wednesday's on the Second Wednesday of every month | |
Free Food - Every Third Wednesday | |
Last Wednesdays of Every month Office Hours With An Attorney | |
Thursdays October 3 - December 12 Virtual Parenting Journey | |
First & Third Thursdays Parent Support Group | |
Thursdays Dungeons and Dragons | |
Thursdays Mens Group in the RPX | |
Thursdays Coffee Hour at the Brick House | |
Thursdays Beyond Trauma Group in Spanish | |
Second Thursdays -Peer Grief Support After Overdose Death | |
Fridays FreeWrite of Franklin County | |
Friday Writing Group at the RP | |
First Friday of Every Month: Open Mic at the RP | |
Every Friday - The Garden Path | |
MassHealth Navigation Support
First Friday of the month 9am-12pm and Third Friday of the month 1pm - 3pm
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Every First & Third Friday Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Support Group | |
Every Second Friday Chosen Family Night | |
Every Third Friday: Karaoke at The RECOVER Project | |
Last Friday of the Month: Gardening in Recovery | |
Children's Advocacy Center Seeks Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Coordinator | |
Re-entry Workforce Program | |
Homeshare Program with LifePath | |
Pathways to Advanced Manufacturing | |
Specialized HVAC Training | |
Specialized Information Technology Training | |
SafeSpot Virtual Overdose Spotting Hotline | |
CHCFC OBAT Same Day & Tele-Health Appointment Information | |
Free Meals and Essentials at Saints James and Andrews Parish Hall | |
Come Cook with Franklin County Community Meals Program | |
Family Self-Sufficiency Program Available | |
Eviction Self-Help Booklets Available in Multiple Languages | |
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MLRI has recently updated and translated some of our self-help booklets for unrepresented tenants facing eviction. While we still recommend tenants facing eviction seek legal help, we know resources are limited and many tenants have to represent themselves. We hope these booklets can be helpful to pro se tenants and their advocates.
You can see the full list of booklets below, or at MassLegalHelp. The booklets can help tenants prepare for court, outline their legal claims, and file court forms. There is also a booklet to help public housing tenants navigate the Grievance process.
Please reach out if you have any questions about the booklets and how they can be used.
What steps to take before going to court and what to bring to court.
An easy-to-use checklist that tells you what conditions violate the State Sanitary Code. You can also use the free self-help guided interview, MADE: Up To Code.
The Answer is a court form that tenants facing evictions can file with the court to outline your legal claims and tell the court your side of the story. You can also use Greater Boston Legal Services’ free self-help guided interview, MADE.
How to ask the court to accept your Answer and Discovery forms late. You can also use Greater Boston Legal Services’ free self-help guided interview, MADE.
A form with instructions for tenants facing eviction to get information to prepare for their trial.
A form with instructions for tenants in foreclosed properties to get information to prepare their case.
A form you can file to transfer your eviction case from a District Court to a Housing Court.
How to get a new court date if you missed your court date.
If you lost your eviction trial and think you have a good case, you may appeal. This document tells you which Appeal form to use.
How to file an appeal from a case in Housing Court.
How to file an appeal from a case in District Court.
How to get time to stay in your home if you lost your case.
How to ask the court to pay for court costs.
How to think through the terms you want in an agreement. Includes a worksheet and stipulation forms to use when you go to court. Read this booklet as webpages and watch the videos!
How to correct errors on your online court records. The Booklet includes the court form you can save to your computer, fill out, save again and print when ready.
A booklet for tenants in Mass. about the grievance process, including worksheets to help you prepare for a grievance hearing.
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Update! Greenfield CSC New Hybrid Operations Change |
The Greenfield Court Service Center is located at 43 Hope St., 1st Floor, Greenfield, MA.
They offer in-person services on Tuesdays & Thursdays, ONLY, from 8:30 am-1 pm, and 2 pm-4 pm. Remote services (email, phone, Zoom) are available on Mondays, Wednesdays & Fridays.
For an intake, contact the Virtual Court Service Center, Mon. thru Fri. 9 am-12 pm by telephone: 1-646-828-7666, press #, #, then enter meeting ID: 161 526 1140 or by video: www.zoomgov.com/j/1615261140.
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COMMUNITY JOB OPPORTUNITIES | |
Opioid Task Force of Franklin County and the North Quabbin Region www.opioidtaskforce.org
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