Harm Reduction Workgroup Meeting
2022-01-05 11:00 - 12:00, 2022-02-02 11:00 - 12:00, 2022-03-02 11:00 - 12:00 (America/New_York)
This meeting is open to the public. Please email info@opioidtaskforce.org for the details on how to participate.

Treatment & Recovery Committee Meeting
2022-01-07 10:00 - 11:30, 2022-02-04 10:00 - 11:30, 2022-03-04 10:00 - 11:30

Human Trafficking & Sexual Exploitation Workgroup Meeting
2022-01-10 13:00 - 14:30, 2022-02-14 13:00 - 14:30, 2022-03-14 13:00 - 14:30

Education & Prevention Committee Meeting
2022-01-11 09:30 - 11:00, 2022-03-08 09:30 - 11:00

What is the Winter Safety Net for Unhoused Individuals in Franklin County and the North Quabbin Region?
2022-01-13 14:00 - 15:00
Join us next Thursday, January 13, 2022, from 2 PM – 3 PM, for “What is the Winter Safety Net for Unhoused Individuals in Franklin County and the North Quabbin Region?”
This session will examine available emergency resources for unhoused individuals, advocacy opportunities, the upcoming Point-In-Time Count, and more!
This event is sponsored by the Opioid Task Force of Franklin County’s Housing & Workforce Development Committee and the North Quabbin Community Coalition’s Housing Task Force.
You can register for this free, virtual event here.

Methadone Workgroup Meeting
2022-01-13 15:00 - 16:00, 2022-02-10 15:00 - 16:00, 2022-03-10 15:00 - 16:00

What's New with RAFT and ERAP? 2022 Updates and Changes in the Emergency Housing Programs
2022-01-27 14:00 - 15:00
Join us on Thursday, January 27, 2022, from 2 PM – 3 PM, as we learn more about the changes in the Rental Assistance for Families in Transition (RAFT) and the Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP) Programs as of January 1, 2022. One can register for this event, here.
Featuring Amanda Watson, the Director of Housing Consumer Education Center for the Franklin County Regional Housing & Redevelopment Authority.
Per the Commonwealth of Massachusetts website, “…the RAFT program helps keep households in stable housing situations when facing eviction, loss of utilities, and other housing emergencies caused by loss of income, increase in expenses, or both. Funding can be used for a variety of needs, including rent or mortgage arrears, security deposits, or other expenses to help households obtain or maintain stable housing. Households with incomes up to 50% of Area Median Income (AMI)*, or 60% of AMI for people who are at risk of homelessness because of domestic violence, are eligible for assistance.”
“The …Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP) leverages new federal funding for eligible low-income tenants who are in need of financial assistance. “

Healthcare Solutions Committee Meeting
2022-01-28 10:00 - 12:00, 2022-03-25 10:00 - 12:00

Franklin County and the North Quabbin HEALing Communities Study Kickoff!
2022-01-28 10:00 - 12:00
Please join us for the kick-off of the HEALing Communities Study in our rural region as part of the Opioid Task Force’s Healthcare Solutions Committee meeting, co-chaired by Dr. Ruth Potee and Dr. Kinan Hrieb, on Friday, January 28, 2022, from 10 AM – 12 Noon, via Zoom. If you are able to attend, please RSVP, here. You can find the Zoom link, here. Help us spread the word! A poster has been attached as PDF and image files.

Massachusetts is one of four states, along with Ohio, Kentucky, and New York, nationally selected to participate in this pioneering effort to reduce opioid-related fatalities by 40% during the study period. Athol, Greenfield, Montague, and Orange comprise one of Massachusetts’ sixteen sites participating in the study. The other Massachusetts communities involved in this effort include Holyoke, Pittsfield, North Adams, Springfield, Belchertown/Ware, Lawrence, Lowell, Shirley/Townsend, Gloucester, Salem, Brockton, Weymouth, Berkley/Dighton/Freetown, Plymouth, and Bourne/Sandwich. (See map below.)

The Massachusetts HEALing Communities Study is managed by the Boston Medical Center and the Opioid Task Force of Franklin County and the North Quabbin Region (Opioid Task Force) will be working with them to implement the identified strategies for this life-saving effort for our rural area. We are fortunate to have Jerry Lund, a member of the Opioid Task Force as our representative on the HEALing Communities Study Community Advisory Board (CAB). Previously, we were also fortunate to have Peggy Vezina act in this capacity.

The goals of this first meeting in Phase 0 are to meet community partners, provide an overview of the HEALing Communities Study (HCS) and the Communities That HEAL (CTH) Intervention, introduce logistics of the HCS, introduce some of the Boston Medical Center’s HCS team and key points of contact, and answer questions.

Questions? Don’t hesitate to reach out and contact us at info@opioidtaskforce.org.
We hope you can join us to contribute your knowledge and expertise related to combatting the opioid crisis in Franklin County and the North Quabbin Region!

Virtual Narcan Training
2022-01-28 14:00 - 15:30
Please join us at an upcoming community overdose prevention training to learn how to recognize and respond to an opioid overdose. Participants will also learn how to administer Narcan, a lifesaving opioid overdose reversal drug.
Participants will learn the answers to these questions:
 What is an opioid overdose?
 How do you recognize and
respond to an opioid overdose?
 How do you administer Narcan to reverse an opioid overdose?
*This event is not open to the press/media.
Register HERE: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZMudeGrqTkiGtMXNiyQ5nV1afvVLNo2JZ2I?fbclid=IwAR3HxDm7V8pjtQIdRQFIU1jnPp5iJGfh9001RU4kBjkV3wlwwVc6x6sbWKk

Intro to Mind/Body Medicine
2022-02-03 14:00 - 15:00
Join us as the CAM Education Series continues in 2022 on Thursday, February 3, 2022, from 2 PM – 3 PM, for an “Introduction to Mind/Body Medicine” with Cheryl Pascucci, RN, MS, FNP-BC, CHC, CCAP, and Program Director of Population Health & Integration, Baystate Franklin Medical Center. One can register here.
Cheryl is a Registered Nurse, Master’s of Science, Board Certified Family Nurse Practitioner, Clinical Hypnosis Consultant, Certified Clinical Aromatherapy Practitioner, Benson-Henry Institute of Mind-Body Medicine — SMART (Stress Management and Resiliency Training) Facilitator).
Are you feeling stuck in an endless loop? not yourself or disconnected? or feel like something’s broken?
You are not alone my friend.
Did you know that 60-80% of all visits to Primary Care Providers are for stress-related conditions?
We usually think of stress as negatively impacting our lives. Something we need to fix.
What if you learned that there is nothing more natural than stress? That stress is the reason we’ve evolved to be the human beings we are today. That stress is predictable. It has a beginning, a middle, and an end and we can feel more balanced if we are taught to notice and manage these stages all day long. The first step in taking care of ourselves and finding balance starts with noticing that our bodies are constantly sending us signals that something is either good for us or that something needs to change. If we’re spinning, feeling stuck, or disconnected — something needs to change. But what?!?
During this hour together, an Introduction to Mind-Body Medicine will help explain why certain strategies designed to help us feel better, work better for some and not others. We are all unique! Does meditation make you more anxious? Do you want to know why? We will use some simple tests designed to help figure out what strategies might work best for you and why. During this time together, you can start designing a plan for what next step could help head you in the direction towards feeling better.
Do join us!

Public Safety & Justice Committee Meeting
2022-02-07 13:00 - 14:30

CAM Workgroup Meeting
2022-02-08 11:00 - 12:00

Housing & Workforce Development Committee Meeting
2022-02-11 10:00 - 12:00

Postponed: Virtual Narcan Training until March 17, 2022 at 6 PM
2022-02-15 18:00 - 19:30
Please join us at an upcoming community overdose prevention training to learn how to recognize and respond to an opioid overdose. Participants will also learn how to administer Narcan, a lifesaving opioid overdose reversal drug.
Participants will learn the answers to these questions:
 What is an opioid overdose?
 How do you recognize and
respond to an opioid overdose?
 How do you administer Narcan to reverse an opioid overdose?
*This event is not open to the press/media.

Register HERE: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZMocuGqrjMqGdcMPoSbM4m1ILYRhkm8ovui?fbclid=IwAR1RfKzzDPNA3oxRYgHR65paPFnr6bcEJeglyux4Dz46M3XlSl_xY4uo-84

A Matter of Life and Death: A Look at 2021 Opioid-Related Fatalities and Trends with Northwestern District Attorney David E. Sullivan
2022-02-17 14:00 - 15:00
Join us as we examine the sobering data showing record-breaking opioid-related fatalities in 2021 compared to 2020 in Franklin County and Athol with Northwestern District Attorney David E. Sullivan on Thursday, February 17, from 2 PM – 3 PM. You can register for this free event, here.
DA Sullivan, one of the founding co-chairs of the Opioid Task Force of Franklin County and the North Quabbin Region, will present the data his office collects every year on opioid-related deaths. This presentation will also reveal where these deaths have occurred, as well as what ages and genders are most affected.
There will also be a brief overview of the CONNECT Program, launched in July 2021. CONNECT is the Franklin County and the North Quabbin’s post-opioid overdose follow-up and community outreach program, designed to provide support and services within 72 hours of an opioid overdose.

Toxic Intersections: Substance Use, Sex Trafficking and Commercial Sexual Exploitation
2022-03-03 14:00 - 15:00
Join us Thursday, March 3, 2022, from 2 PM – 3 PM, as we continue to learn about the complex topic of human trafficking and sexual exploitation and its impact, featuring Dr. Abigail Judge. You can register for this free event, here.
Participants will learn how:
· Addiction makes individuals vulnerable to trafficking and exploitation
· Substances are used as a tool of coercion
· Recovery and addiction services are an opportunity to help
· Stigma, discrimination, and trauma affect help-seeking and must also be addressed
· Communities can offer support to overcome these challenges, learn ways to help in your role
Abigail Judge Ph.D. is a clinical and forensic psychologist at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and in private practice, and she is on the faculty at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Judge’s hospital-based clinical work, scholarship, and teaching focus on improving the clinical response to women impacted by the continuum of commercial sexual exploitation and trafficking. Dr. Judge has worked with this population as a therapist, educator, court-appointed evaluator, and expert witness since 2009.
At MGH, Dr. Judge leads MGH Connect: A Project for Outreach and Recovery, that provides low threshold – that is more easily accessible and acceptable – psychological and peer support for women at the intersection of substance use and commercial sexual exploitation/sex trafficking, and is based at the MGH Bridge Clinic. In 2021, this project received a grant from the Office of the Massachusetts Attorney General to expand access for BIPOC women through survivor mentoring and engaging women detained at the Suffolk County House of Correction.
This is part of the HTSE Workgroup Education Series, which started with Dr. Judge on November 4, 2021.

"A Lifeline: Mobile Outreach Services for Unhoused and other Vulnerable Populations in Franklin County and the North Quabbin
2022-03-17 14:00 - 15:00
As part of the follow-up to the December 10, 2021, Franklin County/North Quabbin 4th Annual Sober Housing Summit, which examined the safety net that exists for unhoused individuals with a history of substance use disorders, we learned that a number of entities offer some type of mobile outreach services in Franklin County and the North Quabbin region.
The North Quabbin Community Coalition and the Opioid Task Force of Franklin County and the North Quabbin Region are organizing this session where members of the community can learn more about existing efforts to better support and refer unhoused individuals and other vulnerable populations to available resources and services.
Featuring:

Rachel Berggren, Executive Director, Franklin County Community Meals Program
Kara Cavanaugh, Recovery Coach Supervisor, The RECOVER Project
Amy Davis, Assistant Director for Rural Harm Reduction Operations, Tapestry
Ed Hayes, Assistant Superintendent, Franklin County Sheriff’s Office
Kirstin Levitt, Executive Chef and Executive Director, Stone Soup Cafe
Jay Levy, Regional Manager, Eliot CHS Homeless Services
Sharon Lincoln, Operations Coordinator, CONNECT, Opioid Task Force of Franklin County & the North Quabbin Region
Cheryl Pascucci, Program Director, Population Health & Integration, Substance Use Disorder (SUD) Bridge Team
Cheo Ramos, Pantry Coordinator, The Center for Self-Reliance, Community Action Pioneer Valley
Kristin Smith, Greenfield Director of Crisis Services, Clinical & Support Options
Lance Smith, Facilitator, Mindfulness Group, & Member, Guiding Council, Wildflower Alliance

We hope you can join us for this free event, scheduled for Thursday, March 17, 2022, from 2 PM – 3 PM. Register, here.

Virtual Narcan Training
2022-03-17 18:00 - 19:30
Please join us at an upcoming community overdose prevention training to learn how to recognize and respond to an opioid overdose. Participants will also learn how to administer Narcan, a lifesaving opioid overdose reversal drug.
Participants will learn the answers to these questions:
 What is an opioid overdose?
 How do you recognize and
respond to an opioid overdose?
 How do you administer Narcan to reverse an opioid overdose?
*This event is not open to the press/media.
Register HERE: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZAkcuCtrTovEtf-s_VfJVkT_evlAnoiYCkL?fbclid=IwAR3zbjdSoPVcTPsaNkrT_Uts6YPKuguuH987Y7MpAfoDnHWw3E0AaZiO62Y

Treatment and Recovery Committee Meeting
2022-04-01 10:00 - 11:30
