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June 7, 2024: Issue 11

Offering hope and help to those impacted by opioid misuse in

Franklin County and the North Quabbin Region.

UPCOMING EVENTS

See what's happening at OTF this month.

COVID-19 RESOURCES

Explore OTF's COVID-19 Resource Guide.

MASSACHUSETTS SUBSTANCE USE HELPLINE

Hope is here. Get help.

413Cares
Resources for Franklin County and the North Quabbin Region. Click here.

NQCC'S RESOURCES

Resources and upcoming events in the North Quabbin Region. Click here.

CONNECTIONS #79

Find local resources in this issue.

Emergency Services Resources for Unhoused Individuals

The PACES CONNECTION

Click here for resources.

Grayken Center for Addiction

Training & Technical Assistance

Click here to view and/or register for trainings.

GCC Community Engagement and Workshop Events

Click here to view and/or register for trainings.

"My wish for you is that you continue. Continue to be who and how you are, to astonish a mean world with your acts of kindness. Continue to allow humor to lighten the burden of your tender heart.”

~Maya Angelou

HEAL Social Media Graphics



Stigma - Be the Change




According to Dr. John Kelly, stigma is “An attribute, behavior, or condition that is socially discrediting. Known to decrease treatment seeking behaviors in individuals with substance use disorders.” (https://www.recoveryanswers.org/addiction-ary/) (Dr. Kelly is the Elizabeth R. Spallin Professor of Psychiatry in Addiction Medicine at Harvard Medical School; the Founder and Director of the Recovery Research Institute at the Massachusetts General Hospital and the Associate Director of the Center for Addiction Medicine at MGH.) 


What many do not realize is that substance use disorder (SUD) is a medical disorder characterized by an inability to stop the use of an addictive substance, despite the negative consequences associated with its use. Addiction is a chronic brain disease and not a lack of willpower.


How does stigma affect people with SUD? 


  • Feeling stigmatized can reduce the willingness of individuals with SUD to seek treatment
  • Stigmatizing views of people with SUD are common; this stereotyping can lead others to feel pity, fear, anger, and a desire for social distance from people with an SUD.
  • Stigmatizing language can negatively influence health care provider perceptions of people with SUD, which can impact the care they provide. (https://nida.nih.gov/nidamed-medical-health-professionals/health-professions-education/words-matter-terms-to-use-avoid-when-talking-about-addiction)


How can we make a change? 

When talking to or about people with SUD, use words that aren’t stigmatizing. Below is a flyer (full-sized poster can be found after the article) that you can print and post. 

Use person-first language, which focuses on the person—not their illness. It focuses on removing words that define a person by their condition or have negative meanings. For example, “person with a substance use disorder” has a neutral tone and separates the person from his or her disorder.


Let people choose how they are described. If you’re not sure what words to use, just ask! Check in with friends or loved ones about how they refer to themselves and how they would like others to refer to them. https://nida.nih.gov/research-topics/addiction-science/words-matter-preferred-language-talking-about-addiction


Stigma extends not just to the person who uses drugs but also to their loved ones. 


Communications that convey community are helpful means of support for people who use drugs and their family and friends. This, in turn, helps keep people who use drugs to seek and persist in treatment. 


This may be even more important in rural areas, as a recent study showed that perceived community stigma toward people treated for OUD, MOUD, and naloxone was higher among stakeholders in rural communities than in urban communities. (Int J Drug Policy 2023 Dec:122)


This poster, which includes a tear-off pad of stigma-related resources, is available through OTF. 

HEAL also provided social media graphics and associated text which we can email upon request. These 6 graphics can be seen in the column to the left.


Be the Change

Everyone can make a difference by creating a stigma-free environment for people with OUD in your family, community, workplace, and/or health care setting. 



"If we're going to end the current addiction and overdose crisis, we must treat combating stigma as no less important than developing and implementing new prevention and treatment tools"

~ Nora D. Volkow, M.D. Director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)



Warmly,

Karen Carmona, Program Associate

Opioid Task Force

OTF Members in the News

"Tackling The State's Number 1 Challenge" ~ Greenfield Recorder (5/17/24)


Availability, affordability and accessibility of housing was the focus of the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities’ regional listening session on Thursday, which will help inform the development of a statewide housing plan.


While housing stock is crunched around Massachusetts, there is a particularly acute shortage here in Franklin County, as only 0.7% of homes in the county are available for sale or rent and one in four renter households are spending more than half of their income on rent and utilities, according to Gina McLaughlin of the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities.


To help the region, and the state as a whole, address this shortage, the Healey-Driscoll administration is seeking to develop a five-year strategic housing plan — in conjunction with the $4.1 billion Affordable Homes Act— by holding 14 listening sessions around the state, including the one in Greenfield on Thursday.


“We’re really trying to put some new tools in the toolbox and we’re trying to supercharge the things we know work,” said Housing Secretary Ed Augustus. “The tools of Greenfield and Franklin County are very different in some cases than the tools in the city of Boston. … It’s not a plan for eastern Massachusetts, it’s a plan for all of Massachusetts.”


Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll was also in attendance, and said many places in Massachusetts, including her former home of Salem, are becoming unaffordable for the vast majority of people.


“We are really committed to trying to tackle the housing challenges, as we see it is the No. 1 challenge in the commonwealth,” Driscoll said, adding that the collective power of residents, businesses and the state can help

achieve housing goals. “Collectively, we think that’s the commonwealth’s strength. When we bring people together — private sector, public sector, nonprofits, higher ed., industries — in regions to tackle a shared vision, we can be successful.”


Following the introductory remarks during the listening session at Greenfield Community College, folks were split into breakout groups of more than a dozen people to discuss their housing priorities, initiatives that are working, and what their dreams are for addressing the challenges the state and region are facing.


“Availability, affordability and accessibility,” Greenfield resident Louise Amyot said of her desire for housing in the area. She also noted separating housing developments by any demographic — racial, economic or others — is the antithesis of building communities. “I don’t think segregated housing is good for society.”


A general consensus among one of the breakout groups — as well as with Augustus — is support for accessory dwelling units by right, or at least with few hurdles for a special permit.


“I’ve become a huge proponent of ADUs,” said Walker Powell, Orange’s community development director, who noted she just bought a house in Montague with a family member because housing is so expensive, but the town’s bylaws allowed for the creation of an accessory dwelling unit, so they could each have their own home.


Among the things folks would like to see to address housing are state incentives that meet the scale of Franklin County. Many developmental subsidies and programs require numerous housing units to be profitable for developers. One solution, said Whately resident and Housing Committee member Montserrat Archbald, would be to either scale down some of the programs for smaller communities or to allow towns to work together on some projects.


“We need some affordable housing, but we are not big enough,” she said. "I’d like some way for towns to collaborate.”

Lack of public transportation and taking a look at short term rental regulations, relating to companies like Airbnb, were also points of concern.

(Staff Photo/Paul Franz)

"Panel Talks Efforts to Combat Sexual Exploitation" ~ Greenfield Recorder (5/31/24)


After viewing a Frontline documentary focused on sexual exploitation in Phoenix, about 40 residents at the Garden Cinemas heard how authorities are combating sexual exploitation of minors in the area.


As part of a community education initiative undertaken by the Northwestern District Attorney’s Office and the Children’s Advocacy Centers of Hampshire County and Franklin County/North Quabbin, residents were invited to view “Sex Trafficking in America,” a 2019 film that follows a special police unit in Phoenix devoted to rooting out sexual exploitation and, specifically, the harrowing story of a 16 year-old girl named Kat.


The 52-minute film was followed by a panel discussion featuring Northampton Police Capt. Victor Caputo and Assistant District

Attorney Anne Yereniuk, deputy chief of the Child Protection Unit of the Northwestern District Attorney’s Office, as well as Kayla Washington and Kelly Broadway, the commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC) coordinators at the two Children’s Advocacy Centers.


Also on the panel was an unidentified local woman who survived sex trafficking perpetrated by her father.


“Self-esteem rests on how good of a product you are,” the woman said as she detailed her upbringing, which consisted of attending 12 schools as a child, making it virtually impossible for friends, neighbors or teachers to notice a problem. “I would have been a very hard child to help.”


Washington said the survivors she works with are typically 14 to 16 years old. Broadway said the youngest survivor she has met was 11.


“ A lot of this stuff is internet- based,” Caputo noted during the discussion. “There’s so many apps and … communication tools. I have a teenage daughter and, yeah, they’re on their phones constantly and it’s a target-rich environment for people who want to engage in that behavior.”


An audience member asked panelists about similarities between what was portrayed in the documentary and what happens in rural western Massachusetts. Yereniuk said authorities patrolling street corners to catch sex workers — as depicted in the film — are nonexistent in Franklin County because it is not an urban area, but “it is online, it is real life.” She also said there are law enforcement officers dedicated to fighting internet crimes.


Yereniuk also mentioned how the opioid epidemic and housing crisis are fueling the sexual exploitation problem.


“In order to prove human trafficking beyond a reasonable doubt, you have to show that there’s an exchange of something for value,” she explained. “Something for value d o e s n’t mean cash. Something for value doesn’t mean currency. It could be whatever.”


Caputo said perpetrators of sexual exploitation use mental manipulation to recruit their victims and keep them trapped.


Some of the people in attendance included members of the western Massachusetts chapter of Bikers Against Child Abuse, an organization that protects young victims of sexual abuse. The bikers provide security and comfort to children going through the ordeal of their abusers’ trial.


Funding for Wednesday’s screening came from a $60,141 grant from the state’s Human Trafficking Enforcement and Training Grant Program to educate mandated reporters, school staff, medical personnel and the community at large about commercial sexual exploitation of children. 


The money also will fund training for area law enforcement with the goal of developing a regional group of investigators with advanced skills in obtaining digital evidence and the technological expertise to conduct complex human trafficking investigations.


(Staff Photo/Dominic Poli)

UPCOMING OTF COMMITTEE & WORKGROUP MEETINGS


Virtual: Treatment & Recovery Committee

June 7, 2024

10:00 AM - 11:30 AM

Zoom details here.


Virtual: Emergency Services for Unhoused Individuals Task Force

June 10, 2024

9:30 AM - 10:30 AM

Zoom details here.


Hybrid: Sexual Exploitation & Trafficking Workgroup

June 10, 2024

1:00 PM - 2:00 PM

Franklin County Reentry Center

106 Main Street, Greenfield

Zoom details here.


Virtual: Education & Prevention Committee

June 11, 2024

9:30 AM - 11:00 AM

Zoom details here.


Virtual: CAM Workgroup

June 11, 2024

11:00 am - 12:00 pm

Zoom details here.


Virtual: Methadone Workgroup

June 13, 2024

3:00 PM - 4:00 PM

Zoom details here.


Virtual: Housing & Workforce Development Committee

June 14, 2024

10:00 AM - 11:30 AM

Zoom details here.


Virtual: Harm Reduction Workgroup

July , 2024

11:00 AM - 12:00 Noon

Zoom details here.


Virtual: Healthcare Solutions Committee

July 12, 2024

10:00 AM - 11:30 Noon

Zoom details here.


Hybrid: Public Safety & Justice Committee

August 5, 2024

1:00 - 2:00 PM

Franklin County Reentry Center

106 Main Street, Greenfield

Zoom details here.


Consult our website or Facebook Page for updates. Please email us with any questions!

FEATURED EVENTS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS

CONNECT: Post-Opioid Overdose Outreach Services

Support & Resources After the HEALing Communities Study

Learn more at HealTogetherMA.org

IMPORTANT UPDATE: HEALTH CARE RESOURCE CENTERS

Medication Supported Recovery Conversation Group - CHD

Mondays 9-10 AM, Tuesdays 9-10 AM or 3-4 PM

Time Sensitive Announcements

May 29 - June 29 Free College Success Course

June 1 - 30 Diaper Drive

June 7 Puerto Rico Day Celebration

June 7 6th Annual DMH Trauma Symposium

June 7 Reading & Booksigning with Abigail Rose Clarke

June 8 Book Sale

June 8 A Floral Design Workshop

June 8 Stone Soup Cafe Menu

June 8 Conical Willow Basket

June 8 5K Hop for the United Arc

June 8 Family Friendly Hike

June 8 Art Naturally - Solar Prints from the Garden

June 8, 9, 14-16 A Midsummer Night's Dream

June 9 PAXSAX: Saxophone Quartet Summer Concert Series

June 9 Exploded View: Downtown Foraging Walk

June 10 The People's Town Hall with Senator Jo Comerford 10 de junio Asamblea Publica con la senadora Jo Comerford

June 10, 17 & 23 Welcoming Wellness Workshop

June 13 Spaghetti Dinner & A Show

June 13 North Quabbin Seasonal Gathering - Spring Edition

June 13 Shea Theater Mural Community Input Session

SHEA THEATER MURAL

Community Input Session

Thursday, June 13, 2024

Shea Theater Arts Center

71 Avenue A, Turners Falls

5-7pm


The goal of this community input session is to generate themes for the Shea Theater mural that are relevant to Turners Falls and its residents. These themes will be used by the selected muralist, Darion Fleming, to create draft designs for consideration and approval by the Shea Mural Steering Group.

Rigorous community input is essential to this process. Please join us! All are welcome!

AGENDA

5:00pm: Pizza

5:30pm: Welcome

5:35pm: Presentation by Britt Ruhe

5:50pm: Meet Darion Fleming, via ZOOM

6:00PM: Easy, interactive activities

7:00PM: Announcements


For more information about this project, please visit: https://montague-ma.gov/p/1539/?cache=0


For questions/comments, please contact: Britt Ruhe, Common Wealth Murals at britt@commonwealthmurals.org 

June 14 Meeting of the West County People Supporting People Network

June 14 Rec The Night Chalk Fest

June 15 Pride Parade

June 15 Poems & Paintings & Postcard

June 15 ECOMagic!

June 17 Three County Continuum of Care Gathering

Register here

June 18 Fishing Frenzy

June 19 Greenfield's 3rd Annual Juneteenth Day

June 20 Preventing Homelessness in Greater Greenfield: Learn about Community Legal Aid's Grant Funded Resources You can register for this free event here.

June 20 Charlemont Forum 2024

Ted Conover - IMMERSIONS: Looking at Social Issues We Might Not Otherwise Explore

June 20 Solstice Paddle

June 22 Orange Riverfest

June 22 Cartographies: Mapping the Interior

June 22 Wendell Free Library Summer Reading Kickoff

with Ed the Wizard

June 23 Community Conversation: Improving Library Accessibility for Patrons with Limited Mobility, Vision, and Hearing

June 24 June Book Discussion "How the South Won the Civil War"

June 24 - August 3 Kids' Summer Reading Program

June 25 Summer Reading Kick Off

June 26 Overdose Prevention & Narcan Training

Register Here!

June 27 Fair Housing 101

June 30 Madness: Race and Insanity in a Jim Crow Asylum

A Chat with Author Antonia Hylton

July 15 - August 29 Tuition Free Training in Culinary Arts

MONTHLY/WORKSHOP CALENDRS AND WEEKLY STANDING MEETINGS/EVENTS

Improving Housing to Improve Health News

June at The Art Garden

June Brick House Events

June Community Action Family Center Calendar

June Programs at Franklin County Reentry Center

June Programs - Great Falls Discovery Center

June Greenfield Public Library Programs

June Montague Public Library Programs

June Events at Sunderland Public Library

June Union 28 Community Network for Children Program Calendar

NQRC Summer Hours

July - August at Hilltown Youth Recovery Theatre

LifePath's FREE Healthy Living Summer Workshops

Spring & Summer Pothole Pictures

Youth Works Summer 2024

Summer at The Art Garden

Montague Community Band 2024 Summer Concert Series

The Shelburne Falls Military Band Summer 2024 Schedule

2024 Seeds of Solidarity Calendar of Events

SNAP Application Assistance
Always Open! Community Labyrinth in Greenfield

NQRC Weekly Schedule

RECOVER Project Groups At a Glance
Weekdays All Recovery Meeting at
The RECOVER Project

Monday/Wednesday/Friday

The Community Closet at The Franklin County Reentry Center

Monday - Friday
Movement Group with North Quabbin Recovery Center Peer Leaders
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

Second Mondays of the Month - North Quabbin B.R.A.V.E. Task Force Meetings

Mondays Alternatives to Suicide Group

2nd Mondays

Greenfield Healing Clinic

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

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

Wednesdays - Wendell Library Playgroup with Sylvia

Wednesdays - Playgroup at the Leverett Library with Gillian

Wednesdays HEROES Study Hub at GCC
First & Third Thursdays Parent Support Group

Thursdays Dungeons and Dragons

Thursdays Mens Group in the RPX

Thursdays Recovery Support Group Meetings at the Franklin County Reentry Center
Thursdays Coffee Hour at the Brick House
Thursdays Beyond Trauma Group in Spanish
Second Thursdays Every Month, Peer Grief Support

Fridays FreeWrite of Franklin County

First Friday of Every Month: Open Mic at the RP

Every Friday - The Garden Path

Every First & Third Friday - Grandparents & Kinship Support Group

Every Second Friday Chosen Family Night

Every Third Friday: Karaoke at The RECOVER Project

Last Friday of the Month: Gardening in Recovery
Homeshare Program with LifePath
Act Now to Stay Covered with MassHealth

Outreach Specialist Position at CHOiCE Recovery Coaching

Community Support Navigator at CHD

DIAL/SELF AmeriCorps Opportunity at
Montague Catholic Social Ministries
CHCFC OBAT Same Day & Tele-Health Appointment Information
Free English Classes
Free Meals and Essentials
Saints James and Andrews Parish Hall
Come Cook with Franklin County
Community Meals Program
CONNECTIONS -
A Residential Program of Behavioral Health Network
Orange Food Pantry Seeking Non-Food Donations
The Franklin County Community Meals Program seeking non-food donations for its Orange Food Pantry

When people think of donating to our agency and food pantry, they often think of food- however, that's easier for us to obtain with local partnerships with farms and retailers. What we struggle to keep stocked are hygienic & household products, such as:

  • Adult pull-ups size Medium, Large, & XL
  • Menstrual products
  • Bath products- bath wash or bar soap, shampoo, conditioner
  • Deodorant
  • Floss
  • Mouthwash
  • Toothpaste (we have plenty of toothbrushes currently!)
  • Paper Towels
  • Toilet Paper
  • Laundry Detergent
  • Dish Soap
  • Household cleaners- Windex, multi-surface, floor cleaner, etc.

Dozen-sized egg cartons for repackaging the hundreds of eggs we receive weekly from retailers are also needed.

Please share this list amongst your networks! Donations can be dropped off at 324 Wells Street (the Franklin County Community Distribution Center) at our office, or if donating a large amount, drop-off can be coordinated via donate@fccmp.org. (Image credit: Pixabay)
Family Self-Sufficiency Program Available
Eviction Self-Help Booklets Available in Multiple Languages

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.

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.

COMMUNITY JOB OPPORTUNITIES
Opioid Task Force of Franklin County and the North Quabbin Region www.opioidtaskforce.org
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