GREENFIELD — For people trying to get sober and recover from a drug or alcohol addiction, navigating the web of treatment options available locally can be difficult, but it’s no easier for their lawyers, who spend quite a bit of time trying to help them through their legal troubles.
Representatives from various social service and mental health care providers, the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office and the regional Opioid Task Force worked to demystify that network by offering a panel discussion last week on what’s available, for any lawyers who wanted to learn.
The panel was held in Greenfield District Court’s jury room Wednesday.
Marisa Hebble, the former director of the Task Force currently working as the coordinator of the Massachusetts Trial Court’s Community Justice Reform project, opened the panel with a description of the region’s network of services for treating people with substance abuse problems.
Those services begin with harm reduction programs and syringe exchanges — a service Greenfield will soon have after the Board of Health recently approved it. Those facilities serve as points where users can be intercepted by social service workers who can connect them to other services.
Hebble said the introduction of a new short-term detox center on Federal Street in Greenfield represents the next level in the network, where clients can safely withdraw from substances under supervision or be switched over to medically-assisted replacement therapy.
Clinical support services, transitional support services, sober housing arrangements and residential support services round out the longer-term options for those looking to maintain sobriety.
For those who want to work toward recovery without such structured measures, chemical replacements like methadone, Suboxone and Vivitrol can be used to reduce cravings and ward off withdrawal symptoms.
While the county jail, detox center, future needle exchange and many of the county’s human services are based in Greenfield, the North Quabbin Community Coalition in Athol fills the need for that region.
“Usually, resources don’t stretch that far to overlap county lines, so we have to think outside the box,” said Heather Bialecki-Canning, the organization’s executive director.
The coalition covers most of eastern Franklin County, plus Athol, Royalston, Petersham and Phillipston in Worcester County.
Bialecki-Canning said the group partners with the Opioid Task Force to bring the initiatives it works on to its region. It’s currently working to open the Quabbin Retreat, a substance abuse treatment facility on the grounds of a former Sisters of Assumption convent, she said.
It also works to address housing problems and to bring services to inmates recently released from prison in Greenfield to the North Quabbin, so they don’t have to travel to comply with terms of release.
Melinda Williams, the Integrated Services Manager for Clinical and Support Options in Greenfield, described the mental health services and addiction or mental health support groups offered by the organization, while Kristin Morin of Behavioral Health Network, Inc. spoke about the new detox center on Federal Street.
That topic drew the most questions from attendees, who were interested in the specifics of how the facility works, what it offers and how to get their clients into a bed there.
Morin noted the facility is drop-in friendly, and if none of the detox’s 64 beds are open at the time, waiting a half hour will usually see one open up.
“If someone comes knocking at 2 a.m. and needs services, we can admit them,” she said.
Kenneth Chartrand, the Franklin County House of Correction’s re-entry case manager, was introduced as the “glue between the cracks” in the treatment network. He’s the main contact for inmates who have recently been released to help them get on the road to re-establishing their lives, getting an education and staying away from substance abuse.
“Our goal is to reduce recidivism,” Chartrand said.
Abbi Cushing, a recovery coach from the Center for Human Development, recounted her own tale of addiction and recovery. She now works through CHD to guide others down the path to sobriety, using her own experiences as a connection point.
You can reach Tom Relihan at: 413-772-0261, ext 264,
or: trelihan@recorder.com. On Twitter: @RecorderTom