Greenfield resident Kurtis Oster’s decision to enroll in Greenfield Community College’s new Addiction Studies certificate program was personal: he’s a Coast Guard veteran and recovering alcoholic.
“I was an alcoholic for 10 years, most of my 20s,” he said. “I got sober two years ago, and I decided that I really wanted to help people that struggle like I did.”
So, he and about 20 other students gathered last week to hear about one aspect of addiction treatment and recovery — so-called “miracle cures” — from professor Amy Ford, the certificate program’s coordinator.
When a person finds themselves in the depths of an addiction, many will do anything to find a way out, and the class spent the afternoon learning to recognize false promises for what they are, so they can keep their future clients from falling for a scam.
Many of the students in that class, “Introduction to Addiction Studies,” are working toward the same certificate as Oster, designed to give them the skills to enter the field of social work and substance abuse services upon graduation.
The certificate’s coursework ranges from that introduction class covering the history of treatment and recovery throughout the 20th century to classes on case management, ethics, motivation for helping others and theories on how to do it, Ford said.
Students will also take a practicum class, where they’ll be placed in positions in the field. They’ll have to perform a total of 300 hours of work, between the fall and spring semesters.
It’s a crucial crash course in a much-needed industry — addiction has claimed the lives of thousands of Massachusetts residents, and those numbers took a dramatic turn for the worst over the past half decade.
One type of “miracle cure,” one student noted as Ford led discussion on the topic, may even have been the source of the region’s ongoing addiction crisis: opioid painkillers.
They are prescribed for pain and are believed to have led many to become dependent on deadly drugs such as heroin and fentanyl.
“That concept has not left us,” Ford said, scrolling through images of current and past examples of alleged addiction cures and other questionable remedies, some of which actually contained the drugs that those who used them were trying to stop using, she said.
“In a way, we want it to be easy and quick, to do a ‘miracle’ without a lot of work. When we’re desperate, we’ll reach for anything.”
Later, Ford segued into a discussion on the history of Alcoholics Anonymous, which is today among the most well-known substance abuse support groups, and other methods that people use to overcome addictions.
Em Balboni of Springfield was drawn to the program after seeing substance abuse affect her family members growing up.
“It’s just something that I’ve wanted to, basically my entire life, help other people get through,” she said. “I think it’s really great that after a year or two, we’ll be certified to help people.”
Oster, the veteran, said he’d like to work at a detoxification center someday, on the frontlines of the crisis.
“I feel like I identify with them and feel like I could help,” he said.
Through that work, both Oster and Balboni hope to, in the words of their professor, “Carry the hope.”
You can reach Tom Relihan at: 413-772-0261, ext. 264
or: trelihan@recorder.com On Twitter: @RecorderTom