Partners for a Healthier Community

PARTNERS | HEALTHY CITY | HOW HEALTHY | VISION | SUMMIT | PRIORITIES | FUNCTIONS | CITY OF FALL RIVER

The Substance Abuse Prevention Task Force of Partners for a Healthier Community of Greater Fall River held a strategic planning session on substance abuse prevention in our communities on February 23, 2016 at Saint Anne’s Hospital. The meeting served to bring together eighteen stakeholders in the community to review current strategies and solicit ideas for potential ways to approach the ongoing opioid crisis in our communities. The group reviewed and assessed the long term substance abuse goals identified in our 2014-2019 Action Plan, selected two of these goals for priority attention in the work plan for 2016, and identified achievable objectives to move toward reaching those goals: 1) Develop/implement supports that address existing gaps in services for individuals with substance use disorder and their families; and 2) Support educators in responding to youth substance abuse through specialized opportunities for training and linkage to available resources. Click here for a complete copy of the Task Force summary report. For more information, contact Task Force co-chairs Rachel Davis at 508-973-5212 or Stephanie Perry at Saint Anne's Hospital.




(Top row, left and center) Parent and community member Lynne Iadicola, Mike Aguiar of the Mayor's Office, Stephanie Perry of Saint Anne's Hospital, and Nic Charest of SSTAR review the Task Force's mission, vision and goals and the strategy and goals of the Massachusetts Opioid Abuse Prevention Collaborative. (Top row, right) Paul Gagnon and Melissa Jodat of South Bay Mental Health, Ron Audette of Saint Anne's Hospital, Connie Rocha-Mimosa of Seven Hills Behavioral Health, and Wendy Rayne of Southcoast Behavioral Health join in the discussion. (Row two) Chasity Armstrong-Menard of the Family Recovery Project gets input from Lynne and Laura on tactics before Nick, Paul, Wendy and Stephanie participate in a break-out group to discuss two priority goals. (Row three, left) Melissa Jodat discusses ways of supporting educators in responding to youth substance abuse through specialized opportunities for training and linkage to available resources. (Row three, right) Rachel Davis of Southcoast Health, Melissa Jodat; Laura Washington, and Tracy Ibbotson of Saint Anne's Hospital discuss selection of priority goals. (Bottom row, left) April Cabrera of the Bristol County District Attorney's Office; Rachel Levesque of Steppingstone; Melissa Jodat; Ron Audette, and Paul Gagnon discuss Strategy 2. (Bottom row, right) Rachel Levesque, ; Lynne Iadicola, and Connie Rocha-Mimosa participate in a small group discussion to identify priority goals.