|
|
August 22, 2025: Issue 16
Offering hope and help to those impacted by opioid misuse in
Franklin County and the North Quabbin Region.
| | | |
International Overdose Awareness Day:
One Big Family, Driven by Hope
Good morning ~
August 31st recognizes International Overdose Awareness Day. Commemorated annually since 2001 when it originated in Australia, International Overdose Awareness Day (IOAD) is now marked in 40 different countries with support from the Penington Institute, an Australian-based public health research and policy entity.
This year’s theme for IOAD is One Big Family, Driven by Hope, which could not be more apt or timely.
Why is this the case? Well, it is fair to say that we all know someone who has struggled with addiction. Whether it is a family member, friend, neighbor, or co-worker, addiction doesn’t discriminate and shows up regardless of class, race, gender, or religion. We also know that recovery is possible and it works.
Research underscores how widespread addiction is in our country. Take a look at some of these compelling statistics below.
We can also see from the charts below that our rural region is not immune to these national trends. For the past five years, we have experienced persistently high levels of non-fatal overdoses, based on available data. We believe these numbers are likely to be underreported, as not every overdose is reported to 911.
| However, it is with relief that we can report a reduction in opioid-related fatalities from 2023 to 2024, after experiencing historically high drug-related deaths starting in 2018. While many factors contribute to overdose, we are grateful for the culture of collaboration that exists here to expand access to treatment and recovery programs, medications for substance use disorders, and naloxone, all of which have been proven to reduce fatal overdoses. | | |
That said, despite all of our collective efforts, 292 individuals have lost their lives to overdose since 2012. This is a staggering number for our rural region. Their untimely deaths reverberate deeply within families and personal networks as well as in our schools, communities, and workplaces, as their absences impact us all as “one big family”.
International Overdose Awareness Day is one way our communities can come together to reflect on those we have lost. It is also a time when we can recommit to each other our fervent desire to prevent fatal overdoses.
We hope you will join us at one or more local events to commemorate International Overdose Awareness Day:
-
Athol: Overdose Awareness Observance, Thursday, August 28, 2025, between 9 AM and Noon, at the North Quabbin Recovery Center, 412 Main Street, Athol, MA. Do you want to contribute to their window collage as part of this observance? If so, for more information, click here.
-
Greenfield: Overdose Awareness Vigil, Saturday, August 30, 2025, 6:30 PM in the Courtyard Labyrinth, Episcopal Church of Saint James and Andrew, 8 Church Street, Greenfield, MA. Organized by The RECOVER Project.
For a list of other events in Massachusetts, gathered by Support After a Death by Overdose (SADOD), click here.
In solace and community,
Debra McLaughlin, Coordinator
Opioid Task Force of 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.
| |
Franklin County/North Quabbin 2024-2025 Winter Response Resources for Unhoused Individuals
Click here
| | |
MASSACHUSETTS SUBSTANCE USE HELPLINE
Hope is here. Get help.
| | |
413Cares
Resources for Franklin County and the North Quabbin Region. Click here.
| | |
NQCC'S Newsletter
Resources and upcoming events in the North Quabbin Region.
Click here.
| | |
Emergency Services Resources for Unhoused Individuals
Click here.
| | |
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.
| |
|
Greenfield Recorder 8.15.25
| |
Shakespeare took the shape of trapeze tricks, aerial fabrics and Chappell Roan dance breaks on Friday night at Hilltown Youth Recovery Theatre’s 15th summer spectacle, “Twelfth Night.” According to the program’s co-founder Dr. Jonathan Diamond, around 475 visitors stopped by over the four show nights. In the open field behind the Heath Elementary School building, the performance catapulted to a start at 6:40 p.m. with campers age 10 to 21 floating and flipping through the air and striking poses in the silks.
Trapeze teachers Arlie Hart, his son Sam Hart, and Anna Speck refer to trapeze art as “flying.” According to Guilford resident and director of the aerial trapeze program Arlie Hart, when Hilltown campers learn to fly, they learn to trust themselves and the adults there to catch them. With each new trick, Hart sees their confidence fly too. “It changes the ‘them’ they see in the mirror,” Hart said. Instead of the same face peering back, he believes the kids begin to think, “This is me who throws flips, this is me that gets caught, this is me that can swing, this is me that climbs the ladder.”
Anna Speck started flying at Hilltown 11 years ago. Now, she works at Circus Academy New York with Sam Hart and teaches at Hilltown. “It gives me a sense of control in a way that I often can’t control in other aspects of my life,” Speck described. While Speck flies for the control, new Hilltown flier Tiaya Ruggierello from Girdwood, Alaska flies for the control and the freedom. “It’s a really beautiful, freeing feeling, it’s very liberating,” Ruggirello said. “You’re the only one up there.”
At Hilltown’s summer camp, trapeze represents only one art form the campers overcoming trauma, addiction, anxiety, depression and other behavioral health challenges learn. In each activity lies lessons for healing. Dr. Jonathon Diamond, a Heath resident and practicing psychotherapist in Northampton, founded the Hilltown Youth Theatre Summer Workshop in 2010 after working in chemical dependency treatment for over 30 years. In 2015, he started the Recovery Theatre with co-founder Alyssa F. Wright in response to the opioid crisis in Franklin County. Last year, the program earned a $100,000 grant from the Mosaic Opioid Recovery Partnership, a collaboration between the Department of Public Health’s Bureau of Substance Addiction Services and RIZE Massachusetts. Diamond said more than half of the 75 campers connect with this goal. The co-founder and executive director has noticed a trend towards therapeutic theater. He stressed that this program is different; it heals through the stakes of its art.
“There’s nothing per se magical about theater,” Diamond said. “You can’t just pull out a book of theater games and expect that to be therapeutic.” Instead, “When there’s skin in the game, there’s got to be fear, there’s got be edge,” he explained, referring to the trapeze, aerial fabrics and Shakespeare’s roaring monologues charged with nerves.
Co-director and native of Shelburne Falls and Heath Raia LeBreux joined in preschool. Now 18, she teaches aerial fabrics at Hilltown. “It’s this controlled fear,” LeBreux described while braiding her co-director Izzie Miller’s hair before the show.
Nineteen-year-old assistant set director Jyn Rankin said they joined four years ago after a mental health low. Their parent presented two options: a partial hospitalization program or Hilltown. Rankin, a Greenfield resident, said the decision was a no-brainer. “I had been to see some of the shows and I was like, ‘They have a flying trapeze, are you kidding me!'”
Flying through the air, Rankin tells themself, “This is an anxious moment, but I can breathe through it.” However, they added, “Breathe through it mostly, the belts are very tight,” Rankin laughed. During trapeze lessons, Hart said he often asks the kids, “If you can do this, what can’t you do?”
...Twenty-one-year-old artistic director Sarah Close wrote the boisterous adaptation. She started acting at Hilltown at 12 years old when she found theater to be a slow breath amidst her anxious thoughts. While she initially acted to escape, she said each play helped her embrace who she was off script. This past summer, she commuted from New York City to help the new group heal through acting her words. She and the other directors also lead recovery intensives throughout the year, including Lantern Light Trainings. From 8 p.m. to midnight, individuals and often entire families move their bodies and respond through words or art to prompts designed to “help participants bind and repair past traumas,” Dr. Diamond explained.
Twenty-year-old Greenfield resident Izzy Miller joined Hilltown three years ago after a Lantern Light Training. “It was the freedom to be silly; the freedom to really be human,” Miller said sitting on the grass as LeBreux braided their hair before the show. They remembered thinking, “This is the place I can breathe and take a breath and not sugarcoat anything.” After that, Miller was hooked. The young group of directors also run recovery lunches to check in with campers and meet with kids considering Hilltown for their recovery.
When Close pitches the program, she tells them her experience. “It’s the only place that I know of where anyone with any experience can come and feel immediately at home and welcome,” Close said. She believes Hilltown understands the connection between the mind and body. “It starts with the things you love, to deal with the things you hate,” she said.
Staff Photo/Aalianna Marietta
| | | | UPCOMING OTF COMMITTEE & WORKGROUP MEETINGS | | |
Virtual: Emergency Services for Unhoused Individuals Task Force
September 8, 2025
9:30 AM - 10:30 AM
Zoom details here.
Hybrid: Sexual Exploitation & Trafficking Workgroup
September 8, 2025
1:00 PM - 2:00 PM
Franklin County Reentry Center
106 Main Street, Greenfield
Zoom details here.
Virtual: Education & Prevention Committee
September 9, 2025
9:30 AM - 10:30 AM
Zoom details here.
Virtual: Harm Reduction Workgroup
September 10, 2025
11:00 am - 12:00 pm
Zoom details here.
Virtual: Joint Treatment & Recovery and Healthcare Solutions Committee
September 12, 2025
10:00 AM - 11:30 AM
Zoom details here.
Hybrid: Public Safety & Justice Committee
October 6, 2025
1:00 PM - 2:00 PM
Franklin County Reentry Center
106 Main Street, Greenfield
Zoom details here.
Virtual: Methadone Workgroup
October 9, 2025
3:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Zoom details here.
**CANCELED** Virtual: Housing & Workforce Development Committee
October 10, 2025
10:00 AM - 11:30 AM
Zoom details here.
Virtual: CAM Workgroup
October 14, 2025
11:00 am - 12:00 pm
Zoom details here.
Virtual: Building a Resilient Community Workgroup
October 15, 2025
11:00 am - 12:00 pm
Zoom details here.
Consult our website or Facebook Page for updates. Please email us with any questions!
| | | FEATURED EVENTS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS | | NQRC Second Annual Photo Collage Project | | Click here for Post-Opioid Overdose Outreach Services | | Time Sensitive Announcements | | August 22 4th Friday Fiesta Mariachi Band & Pinatas | | August 22 Carol Devine & The Mighty Fine | | August 22 Summer Concert Series: Matt York | | August 23 Charlemont Reggae Festival | | August 23 Stone Soup Cafe's 20th Annual Harvest Supper | | August 24 Erving Public Library Book Club | | August 26 Nurturing Fathers | | August 26 Music on the Patio: Juggler Meadow String Band | | August 28 Bilingual Music & Movement | | August 29 Cinemastorm Martial Arts Extravaganza | | August 30 WHWHE: Fables for a New World | | August 30 Overdose Awareness Vigil | | September 4 Housing Search Presentation | |
September 4 Registration Deadline
Parenting Education Class: Build Strong Foundations from the Start
| | September 9 The AI Music Problem: with local author Christopher White | |
September 12 Children's Advocacy Center
Annual Hope, Healing and Help Breakfast
| | September 16 - October 21 Introduction to Genealogical Research | | September 17 West County's Community Resource Fair | | September 17 - December 10 Nurturing Fathers Parent Education Program | | September 19 - October 31 Mindful Childbirth & Parenting | |
September 26 City of Northampton's Department of Health and Human Services
Division of Community Care Two-Year Anniversary Celebration
| | September 26-28 Franklin County & North Quabbin Good Neighbor Day | | September 28 Free Screening of "Won't You Be My Neighbor? | | |
| MONTHLY WORKSHOP CALENDRS AND WEEKLY STANDING MEETINGS/EVENTS | | Community Action Family Center | | Franklin County Reentry Center | | Great Falls Discovery Center | |
Greenfield Public Library Children's Programs
| | Hilltown Youth Recovery Theatre | | Montague Public Library Programs | | North Quabbin Recovery Center | | Seeds of Solidarity and Women Healing Women Healing Earth | | Union 28 Community Network for Children Program | | Explore the Value in Hosting a Community HealthWorker Intern | | Housing Help With Greenfield Housing Authority | | SNAP Application Assistance | | Always Open! Community Labyrinth in Greenfield | | What's Happening at The NQRC | | Sundays ALT2SU (Alternatives to Suicide) | | 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 Breathwork Detox-Guided Group Adventure | |
Mondays North Quabbin Patch Parents' Council | | Mondays Breaking Barriers at the Franklin County Reentry Center | | Mondays Art Guild Meetings | | Monday Drug Court Alumni Group - North Quabbin | | Mondays Community Yoga at Wildflower Alliance | | Mondays Creative Community Involvement Group | | Mondays All Recovery Meeting and Drop In Recovery Coach Support | | Mondays CNC Playgroup at the Erving Public Library | | Second Mondays - North Quabbin B.R.R.A.V.V.E. Task Force Meeting | | Mondays Alternatives to Suicide Group | | 2nd and 4th Mondays Parenting Together at the Brick House | | 2nd and 4th Mondays Council of Cultural Consciousness | | Third Monday Alphabet & Allies | | Third Monday Parenting With Pride | | Mondays and Thursdays Hygiene Supplies Pick Up at the Brick House | | Mondays and Thursdays The Brick House Food Pantry | | Tuesdays LGBTQIA+ ALT2SU (Alternatives to Suicide) | | Tuesdays Grandparents' Support Group | |
Tuesdays Nurturing Program for Families in Recovery | | Tuesdays Peer-Led Grief and Loss Circle | | Every Other Tuesday - Housing Support Drop In Hours | | First Tuesday - Dads' Group | | 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 | | Tuesday & Thursdays Weekly Reentry Groups | |
Tuesday Men's Anger Management Group
Wednesday Women's Anger Management Group
| | Wednesdays Virtual All Recovery Meeting | | Wednesdays BIPOC ALT2SU (Alternatives to Suicide) | | Wednesdays - Wendell Library Playgroup with Sylvia | | Wednesdays - Playgroup at the Leverett Library with Gillian | | Wednesdays HEROES Study Hub at GCC | | Wednesdays Health Connector & Mass Health Navigator Drop In Hours | | Wednesdays Face The Storm Men's Group | | Every Other Wednesday Salasin Project Housing Support | | First Wednesday Gentle Yoga and Breathwork with Jennifer | | First Wednesday - Money Wise Financial Education Sessions | | Third Wednesday - Fatherhood Meetup | | Last Wednesday - Office Hours With An Attorney | | Wednesdays and 2nd Saturdays The Nest Community Closet | | First Thursdays Through November Ukulele Monthly Class | | First & Third Thursdays Parent Support Group | | First & Third Thursdays Eagles Meeting | | Thursdays Music Tween Group | | Thursdays Coffee Hour at the Brick House | | Thursdays Beyond Trauma Group in Spanish | | Thursdays Windows and Mirrors Playgroup | | Second Thursdays -Peer Grief Support After Overdose Death | | Second & Fourth Thursdays Community Meeting | | Third Thursdays Court Service Center Walk-in Days at the North Quabbin Patch | |
Fridays August 29 - October 10
Beyond Trauma: A Healing Journey
| | Friday Peer-led Meditation Group | | Fridays FreeWrite of Franklin County | | Friday All Recovery Meeting and Drop In Recovery Coach Support | | RECOVER Project Friday Nights | |
MassHealth Navigation Support
First Friday from 9am-12pm and Third Friday from 1pm - 3pm
| | First & Third Friday Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Support Group | | Second Friday Wound Care Clinic with Amy Pierno | | FCRN - Resources Available for Grandparents Raising Grandchildren | | |
In February, FCRN partnered with The United Arc and the Offices of Representative Natalie Blais and Congressman Jim McGovern to host representatives from the Social Security Administration, the Department of Children and Families, and the Child Advocate for the Commonwealth Maria Mossaides for a discussion with grandparents raising grandchildren in Franklin County.
Below please find more information about programs covered at the event, as well as some key links and contact information for the representatives for state and federal agencies and legislative offices that were present.
Office of the Child Advocate: The Office of the Child Advocate (OCA) is an independent executive branch agency with oversight and ombudsperson responsibilities, established by the Massachusetts Legislature in 2008.
The best way to get in touch with the OCA is through the Complaint Line: https://www.mass.gov/guides/oca-complaint-line
Maria Mossaides, Child Advocate
Department of Children and Families
Regional DCF team:
DCF’s Kinship Navigator : Kinship Navigator is a program of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts that assists all kinship caregivers (grandparents and other relatives) with accessing services for themselves and the children they are raising.
Kinshipnavigator@mass.gov 1(844) 924-4KIN Online referral: https://formstack.io/CF361
Jennifer Kitchenham, Jennifer.S.Kitchenham@mass.gov
Commission on the Status of Grandparents Raising Grandchildren: The purpose of this Commission is to be a resource to the Commonwealth on issues affecting grandparents raising grandchildren, and relatives, other than parents, raising kin.
On July 8, 2008, the Child Advocate bill was signed into law which included the establishment of the Commission on the Status of Grandparents Raising Grandchildren. This legislation calls for a permanent commission on the status of grandparents raising grandchildren which consists of 15 individuals who have demonstrated a commitment to grandparents.
617-748-2454 massgrg@mass.gov Colleen Pritoni, colleen.pritoni@mass.gov
Family Resource Centers: Supported by the Massachusetts Executive Office of Health and Human Services and the Department of Children and Families, a Family Resource Center is located in each of the 14 Massachusetts counties. There are currently 33 FRCs.
Here are some of the ways FRCs help families:
- Bring people together for friendship and mutual support
- Strengthen parenting skills
- Respond to family crises
- Link families to services and opportunities
- Help children develop social and emotional skills
- Observe and respond to early warning signs of child abuse and neglect
- Value and support parents
Community Action Family Center 90, Federal Street, Greenfield, MA 01301 (413) 475-1555
Jolanta Rumierz, jolanta.rumierz@mass.gov
Social Security Administration - Boston Region Office
SSA representatives in Boston office:
Federation for Children with Special Needs
Caregiver to Caregiver Respite Network: https://fcsn.org/c2c/
Mary-Beth Landy, Senior Trainer & Family Engagement Manager, mlandy@fcsn.org
Below is the information for all of the legislative offices that were present:
Senator Comerford’s office
Representative Blais’s office
Congressman McGovern’s office
Kinship Navigator Brochure
Foster Parent Flyer
Adoption Journeys Brochure
UMASS Brochure - Family Resources Center
Kid's Net Brochure
Mental Health Advocacy Program - FAQs
Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Resources
| | Respite Care and/or Funding for Respite Care | | Psychological Testing & Evaluation at Gandara Center | | Community Support Program & Recovery Support Navigator at Gandara Center | | Gandara Center Outpatient Services | | Free Hypnosis Sessions With Certified Hypnotist Jenn Avery | | Re-entry Workforce Program | | Homeshare Program with LifePath | | Pathways to Advanced Manufacturing | | Specialized HVAC Training | | Specialized Information Technology Training | | |
Support & Resources After the HEALing Communities Study
| | SafeSpot Virtual Overdose Spotting Hotline | | CHCFC OBAT Same Day & Tele-Health Appointment Information | | Free Meals and Essentials at Saints James and Andrews Parish Hall | | Come Cook with Franklin County Community Meals Program | | 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 | |
Beginning Tuesday, 9.3.24, the Greenfield Court Service Center (CSC)services will be in-person and remote: Monday-Thursday, 8:30am-1pm; 2pm-4:30 pm, and Fridays, 8:30-1pm.
For ANY/ALL REMOTE REQUESTS, please contact the Virtual Court Service Center, M-F 9am -2pm, if you do not have an emergency. You can reach them for an intake, Monday-Friday, 9am to 2pm, by Zoom video or telephone as outlined below:
https://www.zoomgov.com/j/1615261140 or Dial (646) 828-7666. Enter the Meeting ID number 1615261140 and then press # #.
If you have an emergency, and still need remote services, have the court department reach out directly to Greenfield CSC office by email for assistance at greenfieldcsc@jud.state.ma.us.
| | COMMUNITY JOB OPPORTUNITIES | | |
Opioid Task Force of Franklin County and the North Quabbin Region www.opioidtaskforce.org | |
| | | |
