PRCC Maine Recovery Hub November Newsletter

PRCC Maine Recovery Hub Newsletter: November 2021

Greetings from PRCC, Maine's Recovery Hub! This month's newsletter features a spotlight on the Larry Labonte Recovery Center in Rumford, ME, a Holidays in Recovery Thrive Guide, a recap on the recent Recovery Coach Certification Workshop, and more recovery news. Keep reading to check it all out!

Spotlight: Larry Labonte Recovery Center is Making an Impact

This summer, the Larry Labonte Recovery Center (LLRC), one of Maine’s sixteen recovery community centers, received a voicemail about how their work saved a life.

I’m just calling to let you know that my son’s father just overdosed on fentanyl, and the Narcan that your recovery center gave to him, that your recovery center trained him how to use, saved his life today. If it wasn’t for your center, he would not be with us. So I just wanted to extend a thank you. Thank you very much for everything that you’re doing—it’s so much appreciated.

LLRC is a small, but mighty recovery community center in Rumford, founded as a grassroots organization with leadership by the Labonte family in memory of Larry Labonte, a local businessman. In May, LLRC started setting up outreach tables in public places to offer anyone who stops by Narcan training, kits, and resources local to the Rumford area. They also offer trainings at their center in Rumford. Since opening in March 2020, the pandemic slowed the center’s growth, but the Narcan trainings have become one of their biggest programs.

The voicemail was a validation of the work that LLRC is doing and the difference they are making.

“Getting that call affected everybody who works here,” said Kathie Williams, Director of LLRC. “We don’t always get the thanks or see the end result, but it’s very gratifying when we do.”

Tommy Hayes, LLRC Recovery Coach and Naloxone Coordinator, was in full agreement. “It definitely makes it worth it when we hear that someone was able to use the training that we gave them." Tommy said. "I don’t even know if words do it justice. We helped save somebody.”

If you’re interested in checking out the Larry Labonte Recovery Center, check out their Facebook page for up to date info about meetings and trainings. You can support LLRC by participating in their March 2022 3rd annual fundraiser.

Recap: Maine Peer Recovery Coach Certification Workshop

PRCC, in collaboration with the Maine Recovery Coach Certification Board (MRCCB), held a workshop that outlined how to become a Registered or Certified Peer Recovery Coach and provided information on the upcoming certification process in the state of Maine. The workshop also featured interactive sessions on self-care and ethics for recovery coaches.

The workshop, which occurred on November 10th from 9am-12pm as a Zoom webinar, saw a total of 85 participants.

Some key dates to remember:

Dec. 22, 2021: The MRCCB website goes live.
Jan. 1, 2022: The Certified Peer Recovery Coach application goes live, and the Registered Peer Recovery Coach Application will transition to electronic submission.

The workshop is online now and publicly available for viewing. Whether you are a trained recovery coach, thinking about becoming trained, employing recovery coaches, a person in recovery, a recovery ally, or community member who is looking to help those in and seeking recovery, this information and online recording is for you.

Remember, until the new website goes live, you can still register as a Maine Peer Recovery Coach on the PRCC's Maine Recovery Hub webpage.

PRCC extends a heartfelt thanks to the MRCCB for helping host a wonderful event, and thank you to Healthy Acadia and Love Yourself for participating in such a meaningful way.

Watch the webinar here.

Putting the Options on the Table: OPTIONS Program's First Year

The Governor’s Opioid Response Seminar Webinar Series continued on Friday, Nov. 5, 2021 with a presentation that shares data and stories from the OPTIONS Program's first year.

The Overdose Prevention Through Intensive Outreach Naloxone and Safety (OPTIONS) initiative is a coordinated effort of the Maine Office of Behavioral Health (OBH) and other state agencies to improve the health of Mainers who use substances through harm reduction strategies, helping them on the road to recovery, and dramatically reducing the number of fatal and non-fatal drug overdoses.

"I can't speak highly enough of this program," said Tony Mulligan, Police Chief of Rumford. "With very little heavy lifting on our part, we've been able to divert a lot of these calls right over to the OPTIONS program."

Through county-specific substance use disorder liaisons, who are licensed behavioral health clinicians within local Public Safety agencies, the OPTIONS program has made a huge impact since it began. In the last year, the program made 271 referrals to recovery, 263 referrals to treatment, and 386 emergency calls. In addition, they provided 909 naloxone kits and 477 post-overdose follow up kits.

"Substance use disorder is not at all an individual problem. It's a public health problem, it's a social problem" said Glenn Gordon, OPTIONS liaison for Oxford County. "So, it really requires public health answers."

Learn more about the OPTIONS program's first year by viewing Seminar 3 on the Governor's Opioid Response Seminar Library. Speakers included Sybil Mazerolle from the Office of Behavioral Health, OPTIONS liaison for Oxford County Glenn Gordon, OPTIONS liaison for Waldo County Kate Dowd, and Tony Milligan, Police Chief of Rumford. Mark your calendar for the next seminar, which will be held December 3, 11:30-12:30, and feature a presentation by Northern Light on Advancing Mental Health through Telemedicine.

Holidays in Recovery Thrive Guide

The holidays can be a season of highs and lows for anyone, but if you're recently in recovery — or even several years into recovery — it can be an extra challenging time.

PRCC has created a Holidays in Recovery Thrive Guide to offer statewide resources and tips to help people in recovery continue to grow on their pathway, even as challenges arise. The guide includes resources for connection (such as meetings, Telephone Recovery Support, and recovery coaching), a map of all recovery community centers in Maine, self-care tips, and a list of crisis supports.

This holiday season, our message is this: you are not alone. There is an entire recovery community in Maine that is rooting for you, and here for you through friendship, support groups, recovery coaching, and phone support. PRCC is here for you and believes in you.

Happy Holidays!

Read the Holidays in Recovery Thrive Guide here, and please share widely!

New Study Reveals the Importance of Stigma Reduction in Health Care

The Recovery Research Institute just published a new study that explores how stigma influences people with substance use disorders (SUDs) and their ability to get medical help.

Here are some key points from the study:

Most individuals in the United States with SUD do not seek treatment. Studies suggest this may be explained by the stigma that people who use substances experience in medical settings.
The study, which was set in one county in Arizona, characterized the healthcare experiences of people who use substances in that county. Among the participants, many did not seek medical care in the past year, and those who did, did not do so at a doctor's office. In addition, almost all participants reported medical maltreatment by healthcare providers.
One implication of this study's findings is the importance of educating health care providers about social constructions around substance use and people who use substances.
For stigma reduction, researchers suggest interventions that use a positive empathy approach, a type of empathy response that focuses on a client's hidden message of desire for a better life, as well as policies to disincentivize mistreatment of people who use substances.
One simple, empirically-supported way to reduce stigma in healthcare settings is to change the language used to describe people who use drugs and addiction. For more information on destigmatizing language, please see the RRI’s Addictionary®.

In general, stigma is complex, consists of many levels, and can manifest itself in many ways, so addressing it is not straightforward. We are still learning about the many dimensions of the stigma construct as it relates to people who use drugs and how interventions might be designed to reduce it. Studies like this one help in these endeavors.

Read the full study here.

Building Recovery Community Throughout the State of Maine

This newsletter allows us to connect with you, our Maine recovery community. Whether you're a person in recovery, family member, or ally, you are part of the solution to addiction. Published on a regular basis and sent via email, this newsletter provides updates and gives you an opportunity to help support recovery and spread the message of hope throughout the state of Maine. To learn more about PRCC, whose programs are funded in part by the Maine Department of Health & Human Services, visit our website. Please send any feedback or information you'd like us to include to newsletter@portlandrecovery.org.