By TOM RELIHAN
Recorder Staff
GREENFIELD – Breaking out of a serious substance abuse problem is no easy feat, but Franklin County and the North Quabbin region have added quite a few resources this year to help with that struggle.
September is National Recovery Month, and The Recorder has compiled an interactive map of where to find the resources those battling an addiction can rely on.
Map: Franklin County’s Addiction Treatment Resources
(Do you know of a resource that’s not on our map? E-mail info to news@recorder.com or trelihan@recorder.com)
What’s new?
The region’s seen quite a few new addiction treatment options added since last September.
In June, Behavioral Health Network of Springfield opened a much-needed acute detox and clinical stabilization facility in the former Lunt Silversmith property on Federal Street.
That facility has 64 beds, half for men and half for women, and can take addicts struggling to obtain sobriety right off the street.
The center fills a gap that has existed in Franklin County’s addiction treatment network for years. Before that, the closest detox beds were located in Brattleboro and Springfield.
“That the vast majority of patients there are from the region shows how needed it was in the area,” said Paul McNeil, the director of the regional Opioid Task Force. “It’s shifted a lot of our attention and resources to take on the other priorities and projects.”
In the North Quabbin, a new treatment facility to be operated by Heywood Healthcare is slated for property in Petersham. That facility is expected to open for day treatment with 20 beds in January, according to Rebecca Bialecki, the facility’s executive director.
That spring, a 40-bed adult residential substance abuse treatment program will open at the Retreat, Bialecki said.
McNeil said that will be one of the only places to offer youth substance abuse treatment in the region.
For parents struggling with addiction who have found themselves facing criminal charges, a new Family Drug Court opened this summer in Greenfield District Court. It’s the first of its kind in the state, and allows drug offenders to complete a treatment program instead of facing a prosecution following their arraignment.
If they complete the program, their charges will be dropped. The program also offers support, counseling and therapy for young children and family members – an aspect that sets it apart from the regular Drug Court program.
The Center for Human Development in Greenfield also launched its Recovery Coaching program this spring, modeled after similar programs in the eastern part of the state.
Substance users seeking to obtain or maintain recovery are paired with a person who has done so successfully under the program, and together they work to navigate the problems the client needs to solve to reclaim their life and get past their substance abuse.
Greenfield Community College is also offering a new certificate program for those seeking a professional career in addiction treatment, the Addiction Studies program.
The certificate covers various topics in addiction, susbstance abuse, psychology and case management, and can be completed in two years of part-time enrollment.
In local schools, new state legislation designed to combat the opioid epidemic has mandated expanded screening of students for addiction under a program called Screening, Brief Intervention, Referral to Treatment, or SBIRT.
The goal is to intercept students exhibiting risky behavior or who are already misusing addictive substances and get them the help and support they need to address it.
Michael Lewis, the director of The RECOVER Project, said the peer-supported recovery organization on Federal Street continues to expand its programming, adding two new recovery writing groups and hosting meetings of the Massachusetts Organization for Addiction Recovery, a Boston-based organization working to fight addiction.
The Opioid Task Force is also planning to hire a community resource coordinator to help people navigate the web of addiction treatment services in the region more easily.
McNeil said the Task Force is also developing a pilot program for ride-sharing to treatment services called CareRide with the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office and The RECOVER Project. He expects it will take the form of a texting phone tree through which people can get a ride to and from services at a touch of their phone.
McNeil said the region’s next steps will be to increase longer-term treatment options, including sober, substance-free housing and transitional sober housing options.
“Those are not a place you’ll live for three years, but they’re places where you’ll be able to lay roots for a month, or three months, before finding a long term viable living option,” he said.
Recorder reporter Domenic Poli contributed to this report.
You can reach Tom Relihan at:
413-772-0261, ext. 264
or trelihan@recorder.com
On Twitter, @RecorderTom