About 200 people from across
various sectors gathered at Rachel's Lakeside Restaurant in Dartmouth, MA,
on March 30, 2016 to listen to a variety of presenters on the topic of opioids
and other drugs that have produced a crisis among Massachusetts families.
Organized by the Massachusetts
Department of Public Health's Bureau of Substance Abuse Services (BSAS),
the day-long training provided a cross-sectional view of the current
crisis and how families in the Southeast are affected. The event covered
the physiology of addiction, the signs and symptoms of substance abuse,
and the tools available for families struggling with addiction. Speakers
included Representative
Carole Fiola, Sue St. Amor of Stanley
Street Treatment and Resources, Drug Recognition Expert Scott Hile of
Bridgewater, DPH Director of Interagency Initiatives Brian Sylvester, and
a panel that included Joanne Peterson of Learn
to Cope, Dominique Simone Levine of Allies
in Recovery and Connie Rocha Mimoso of Seven
Hills Behavioral Health. A resource fair providing information on
local treatment resources also ran throughout the day. Fall River, which was one of a dozen
communities represented at a recent
forum, has seen a steady
rise in overdose deaths over the past several years, with numbers
moving from 16 in 2013 to 44 in 2014 and 36 in 2015. Click
here for a 15-minute 
video of the forum. For more information, contact MassTAPP
Technical Assistance Specialist Carl Alves at 508-400-2977. |
