A meeting of members of the former B.O.L.D. (Building Our Lives Drug-free) Coalition was held on September 28, 2015 at Stanley Street Treatment and Resources (SSTAR) the principle vendor for Massachusetts Bureau of Substance Abuse Services (BSAS) in the Fall River and Taunton Area. SSTAR Prevention Services Director Michael Aguiar convened the meeting of representatives of programs funded under the Massachusetts Opioid Abuse Prevention Collaborative (MOAPC), the Massacusetts Substance Abuse Prevention Collaborative (SAPC), and the Partnerships for Success II (PFS II) programs in Fall River, Dighton and Taunton. Discussion centered formation of a single partnership that could represent each of these programs as well as other substance abuse prevention concerns among other organizations and the public. While a definitive agreement was not reached at this meeting, a consensus was reached that this would be good for prevention work in the region. Subsequent meetings will work to come up with operating principles for this group and confirmation of the use of the BOLD name. Click here for a three-and-a-half-minute video of the group members introducing themselves. Click here to see photos of a Substance Abuse Task Force meeting held in December 2014. For more information about the BOLD Coalition at Stanley Street Treatment & Resources call Mike Aguiar at 508-324-3537.

(Top row) SSTAR Prevention Services Director Michael Aguiar opened the meeting with a proposal to form a regional coalition that would encompass prevention programs in Dighton, Fall River and Taunton as Anne Brisson of the Taunton Department of Human Services and Brittany Lynch of Saint Anne's Hospital listen. (Row two) Anne Brisson, left, raises question about how such a coalition would work as current BOLD Coalition Co-Chair Tom Pasternak, sitting next to Jessica Koelsch of  Mass TAPP, looks over the BOLD bylaws. (Row three) SSTAR staff member Laura Washington, left, raises some questions about how the grant-specific coalitions would operate under the larger coalition while Mike Aguiar, right, responds. (Bottom Row) Nick Charest from SSTAR, April Cabrera from the Bristol County District Attorney's Office, Carol Constantine from Bristol Community College, Chasity Armstrong-Menard of the Family Recovery Project, and Fall River Health and Human Services Director Dr. Henry Vaillancourt review the proposed organization.