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July 26, 2024: Issue 14

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 #81

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.

Rural SUD Info Center

Click here for resources.

"You will face many defeats in life, but never let yourself be defeated."

~Maya Angelou

Hellos and Good-byes


Good morning!


Today we are bidding a fond farewell to Tiarra Fisher. She is leaving us to pursue her PhD at New York University. We are thrilled for her as she embarks on this new and exciting chapter of her career.


Tiarra joined the Opioid Task Force on June 1, 2022 to initially lead the Franklin County and North Quabbin HEALing Communities Study as its Community Coordinator before transitioning to CONNECT's Operations Coordinator.


In that time, she skillfully shepherded the successful implementation of HEALing Communities and CONNECT activities to reduce the number of fatal and non-fatal overdoses in our rural region while building community.


This included, but was not limited to, the...

  • Successful launch of the Addiction Consult Services at Baystate Franklin Medical Center, which is being used as a model for their other rural hospitals.
  • Pharmacy detailing.
  • Installation of public access naloxone containers.
  • Support the provision of harm reduction services.
  • Development of a process to offer recovery coaching at the Baystate Emergency Room.
  • Support overdose prevention and Narcan trainers.
  • Development of CONNECT's Mobile Outreach Program.
  • Support the wide distribution of naloxone community settings.
  • Support of the peer recovery centers and other partners offering services to those who have witnessed or experienced an opioid overdose.
  • Update the Franklin County/North Quabbin SUD directory of services.


We are grateful to Tiarra for her leadership, commitment and passion for this public health work. We can't wait to hear what she does next!

As they say, when one door closes, another open. We are excited to formally announce today Tiarra's replacement, CONNECT's Outreach Manager, Nicole St. Hilaire.


Nicole recently graduated from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst with a bachelor's degree in public health and a minor in social justice and health equity. She has an extensive and diverse background in social justice advocacy work, health education community organizing, peer support, program coordination, and research.


Nicole also brings years of experience working as a liaison to military families, connecting them to available resources and services in Western Massachusetts. A native of Greenfield, Massachusetts, she is deeply familiar with the unique needs of our rural community and brings her passion for addressing the devastating impact of opioid misuse.

We look forward to having Nicole as a member of the Opioid Task Force team. You'll be seeing more of her at CONNECT and other Opioid Task Force sponsored meetings and events in the weeks to come.


Thank you for your enduring support of our work! 


Debra McLaughlin

Coordinator, Opioid Task Force

OTF Members in the News

"Study Finds Homeless Population on the Rise"

Greenfield Recorder (7/5/24)


The number of homeless people in Franklin County has more than doubled in the last year, as the annual Point-in-Time count in January found 252 people sleeping in shelters or outside, compared to 104 in January 2023.

Franklin County accounted for approximately one-fifth of the total increase of homeless people in all of western Massachusetts — defined as Berkshire, Franklin, Hampden and Hampshire counties — which saw 3,862 homeless people counted on Jan. 31, compared to 3,305 people counted in 2023.


The annual Point-in-Time count is a national initiative set up by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to determine the greatest needs for homeless people with and without shelter. Nationally, regions within each state are broken up into Continuums of Care (CoCs), where organizations work together to survey homeless populations and offer them resources, such as sleeping bags, backpacks or warm clothing. Western Massachusetts is broken up into the Berkshire-Franklin-Hampshire Three County CoC — the largest geographic continuum of care in the state — and the Hampden County CoC.


“There’s no area where there isn’t an increase: unsheltered, individual and family, they’re all rising,” said Pamela Schwartz, director of the Western Massachusetts Network to End Homelessness. “That’s the reality we’re staring at.” The number, Schwartz added, is “most definitely an undercount” as HUD’s definition of homeless does not include people who are sleeping on friends’ and family members’ couches on a temporary basis or other similar arrangements.


Part of the huge spike in Franklin County’s numbers are a result of the Haitian immigrants that are currently being sheltered in Greenfield. The inclusion of the immigrants in this data explains the notable disparities in the race and ethnicity and age demographics included in the data.


In 2023, just 6% of those counted were Black or African American and 24 people were aged 0 to 18 years old, while 2024’s data shows 56% of people counted were Black or African American and 82 people were 0 to 18 years old. The number of people in families skyrocketed from 42 to 171 in that same time frame, as well.

Other driving factors behind the increased number of homeless people include rising rents, lack of affordable housing, the continued effects of the opioid epidemic and the severe mental health or substance- use crises resulting from the pandemic.


“If there’s any person with a constellation of that, you’re in real trouble,” Schwartz said. “The good news is we do know what works in response to homelessness. “We know that housing-first works, which means no barriers to housing,” she added. “Good policies and adequate resources make a difference; they are a real solution.”


Initiatives Schwartz and the network are targeting include the sealing of eviction records, which still show up in the database even if the tenant wins, as well as support for the Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act, which gives the first right of purchase to a tenant. Others include allowing accessory dwelling units by right, repealing the ban on local rent control and a piloting an access-to-counsel-in-evictions program to assist tenants who may be facing eviction. “We know what works and we need to do more of it,” Schwartz said. “We need the political will to do it.”


The data also was discussed at the eighth annual gathering of the Western Massachusetts Network to End Homelessness in May. Community leaders, mayors, lawmakers and Housing Secretary Ed Augustus gathered to call attention to the data and discuss ways to address the rising number of people who are finding themselves homeless.


“One of the greatest consequences of our ongoing housing crisis has been the rise of homelessness,” Augustus said in a statement. “Many people, through no fault of their own, have been priced out or squeezed out of housing in Massachusetts. But we can do something about it. It starts with building more housing to meet the demand and to lower costs for everyone. And it continues with important changes like giving access to legal counsel to low-income tenants and owner-occupants in eviction proceedings. Gov. [Maura] Healey’s budget is the first budget ever to include this.”


(STAFF FILE PHOTO/CAROL LOLLIS)

"Feedback Sought on Opioid Use Funds"

Greenfield Recorder (7/15/24)

 

 Having already received roughly $400,000 out of its $1.7 million in national opioid settlement funds, the city will soon hold a public hearing so residents can offer suggestions on how the money can best be used to combat the impacts of opioid addiction in Greenfield.


The nationwide opioid settlement, announced in July 2021, set Massachusetts up to receive more than $500 million of the $26 billion settlement, according to the Attorney General’s Office. The agreement, according to then-Attorney General Maura Healey, resolved investigations and litigation over pharmaceutical companies’ roles in fueling the opioid epidemic.


Since the city published its Opioid Settlement Community Feedback survey in the fall of 2023, Precinct 5 City Councilor Marianne Bullock said roughly 200 responses have been received from residents,

outlining how they believe the settlement funds should be used. In the weeks ahead, Bullock said the city will establish a multi-disciplinary opioid advisory group that will recommend potential uses to Mayor Ginny Desorgher. 


“I’m hoping that we can look at our existing services and determine where there might be gaps so that we can fund what’s going to be the most impactful in terms of prevention and harm reduction,” Bullock said. “There’s going to sort of need to be some expertise to figure out where that is.”


Choice Recovery Coaching Supervisor Sarah Ahern, an advocate for Greenfield’s recovery community, will serve on the advisory group. Ahern noted that she, an overdose survivor in long-term recovery, has lost friends and family to opioid addiction, and was pleased the state mandated that distribution of opioid settlement funds follows a community engagement process.


Discussing some of the potential funding uses brought up by her peers in recovery, Ahern said the creation of a low-threshold drop-in center — in which residents can get addiction recovery services without meeting the requirements of a sober home — was often suggested. She also noted that since the settlement money can be distributed to individuals organizations through the creation of a grant fund, the city might also be able to fund funeral services for those who died from substance use.


“My heart and my wish is that [this advisory group] guides the process, but we create a consumer advisory board that is just people with lived and living experience, because the money is for us and it’s to help abate the different harms in different buckets that are allowable. It should be the people with lived experience guiding that,” Ahern said. “ At every facet of the engagement process, there should be peers, people with lived experience, family members of loss that should be guiding that conversation and also voting on how the money is being spent. … We’re looking at a lot of money ... that could be used to do some amazing things.”


Ahern encourages members of the public with thoughts on how the city can best invest the funds to either reach out to the Mayor’s Office or contact her directly at endthestigma@yahoo.com. She said after working as a recovery advocate across the state on settlement fund distribution,

she is particularly impressed with Greenfield’s process.


“Our little city of Greenfield is so far the city that’s getting it right,” Ahern said. “I sit in these meetings with other people from all across the commonwealth, and they’re saying, ‘My city is not listening or won’t even answer my call, my city councilor told me that I was ridiculous, or they were going to buy a police cruiser with it.’” Bullock said she plans to lead a public hearing on the settlement in August or September. She said she will hold multiple public engagement events before the advisory group recommends any spending items to the mayor.


“We have far more than a few hundred people that have been touched by substance use and addiction in this community, so I think that we need a higher level of engagement than just those numbers,” Bullock said, referencing the roughly 200 survey responses. “I also just think that a survey isn’t the end-all, be-all of community engagement by any means — it’s like the sort of tip of the iceberg to start engagement.”

UPCOMING OTF COMMITTEE & WORKGROUP MEETINGS

Virtual: Treatment & Recovery Committee

August 2, 2024

10:00 AM - 11:30 AM

Zoom details here.


Hybrid: Public Safety & Justice Committee

August 5, 2024

1:00 PM - 2:00 PM

Franklin County Reentry Center

106 Main Street, Greenfield

Zoom details here.


Virtual: Harm Reduction Workgroup

August 7, 2024

11:00 AM - 12:00 Noon

Zoom details here.


Virtual: Methadone Workgroup

August 8, 2024

3:00 PM - 4:00 PM

Zoom details here.


Virtual: Housing & Workforce Development Committee

August 9, 2024

10:00 AM - 11:30 AM

Zoom details here.


Virtual: Emergency Services for Unhoused Individuals Task Force

August 12, 2024

9:30 AM - 10:30 AM

Zoom details here.


Hybrid: Sexual Exploitation & Trafficking Workgroup

August 12, 2024

1:00 PM - 2:00 PM

Franklin County Reentry Center

106 Main Street, Greenfield

Zoom details here.


Virtual: Education & Prevention Committee

August 13, 2024

9:30 AM - 11:00 AM

Zoom details here.


Virtual: CAM Workgroup

August 13, 2024

11:00 am - 12:00 pm

Zoom details here.


Virtual: Building a Resilient Community Workgroup

August 21, 2024

11:00 am - 12:00 pm

Zoom details here.


Virtual: Healthcare Solutions Committee

September 13, 2024

10:00 AM - 11:30 Noon

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

Free Program at CHOiCE Recovery Coaching

Apply here: CHOiCE Recovery Coaching Redefining Community Wellness Grant

Free Hypnosis Sessions with Certified Hypnotist Jenn Avery

Time Sensitive Announcements

June 24 - August 16 Summer Meals Under the Tent

July 1 - August 9 Athol-Royalston RSD FREE Meal Site Program

July 2 - August 13 Tuesday Splash and Fun Playgroup

July 26 Friday Story Time

July 26 Summer Kidleidescope

July 26 West African Drumming Workshop

 for Teens and Adults

July 26 Connecticut River Flute Choir

July 26 & July 27 Travels With My Aunt

July 27 Duckworld

July 27 Beyond Paper Cranes

July 27 Stone Soup Cafe Menu

July 28 Weaving Wild Baskets with Invasive Plants

July 29 Reptile Nook

July 30 Furry Tales Library Hour

July 30 Tissue Paper Crafts

July 30 Kids' Virtual Author Talks with Dan Santat

July 30 Elephant Perler Bead Workshop

July 31 Pop Up Art School: Felted Bee

July 31 & September 17 Public Information Sessions Regarding an Affordable Homeownership Opportunity in Greenfield

August 1 Grandparent Connect: A Summit of Grandparents Raising Grandchildren from Western MA

August 1 & 2 NQ Patch Parents' Council Backpack Drive

August 5 Surrealism and Still Life

August 6 National Night Out

August 8 Blooming Backpacks

August 9 Down By the River Presenting Chick'n'Wire

August 22 Overdose Prevention & Narcan Training

Register here

MONTHLY/WORKSHOP CALENDRS AND WEEKLY STANDING MEETINGS/EVENTS

Improving Housing to Improve Health News

July at The Art Garden

July Community Action Family Center Calendar

July Programs at Franklin County Reentry Center

July Programs - Great Falls Discovery Center

July Greenfield Public Library Programs

July Montague Public Library Programs

July Events at Sunderland Public Library

July at The RECOVER Project

July Union 28 Community Network for Children Program Calendar

July - August at Hilltown Youth Recovery Theatre

NQRC Summer Hours

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

Whatever Wednesday on the

Second Wednesday of every month

Third Wednesday Free Food

Last Wednesdays of every month - Office Hours With An Attorney

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 Every Month, Peer Grief Support

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

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

Probation Case Specialist Position at Greenfield District Court

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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