Opioid Task Force

Treatment and Recovery Committee Meeting
2022-09-09 10:00 - 11:30, 2022-08-05 10:00 - 11:30, 2022-07-08 10:00 - 11:30 (America/New_York)
This meeting is open to the public. Please email info@opioidtaskforce.org for the details on how to participate.

Methadone Workgroup Meeting
2022-09-08 15:00 - 16:00, 2022-08-11 15:00 - 16:00, 2022-07-14 15:00 - 16:00, 2022-06-09 15:00 - 16:00

How Sexual Exploitation and Human Trafficking Becomes Normalized in Families and Communities
2022-09-08 14:00 - 15:00
Join us as Dr. Abigail Judge returns to help us better understand “How Sexual Exploitation and Human Trafficking Becomes Normalized in Families and Communities”, scheduled for Thursday, September 8, 2022, from 2 PM – 3 PM. One can register for this free event here.

Session participants will learn more about this complex topic to increase awareness as well as identify gaps and resources.
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, which 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 session is sponsored by the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office and the Opioid Task Force of Franklin County and the North Quabbin Region’s Human Trafficking & Sexual Exploitation Workgroup.

Harm Reduction Workgroup Meeting
2022-09-07 11:00 - 12:00, 2022-08-03 11:00 - 12:00, 2022-07-06 11:00 - 12:00

Building a Resilient Community Workgroup Meeting
2022-09-06 11:00 - 12:00

Overdose Prevention and Narcan Training
2022-08-26 14:00 - 15:30
Learn how to save a life! Please join Tapestry and the Opioid Task Force of Franklin County and the North Quabbin Region for this online overdose prevention training, scheduled for Friday, August 26, 2022, from 2:00 PM – 3:30 PM, via Zoom. You can register for this free event, here.
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?We hope you can join us to learn how to save a life! Attached is a flyer – help us spread the word!

Housing and Workforce Development Committee Meeting
2022-08-12 10:00 - 12:00

CAM Workgroup Meeting
2022-08-09 11:00 - 12:00, 2022-06-14 11:00 - 12:00

Human Trafficking & Sexual Exploitation Workgroup Meeting
2022-08-08 13:00 - 14:30, 2022-07-11 13:00 - 14:30, 2022-06-13 13:00 - 14:30

Public Safety and Justice Committee Meeting
2022-08-01 13:00 - 14:30

Overdose Prevention and Narcan Training
2022-07-25 17:30 - 19:00
Please join Tapestry and the Opioid Task Force of Franklin County and the North Quabbin Region for this online overdose prevention training.
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?
The event is free and open to the public.
Register here.

Franklin County/North Quabbin HEALing Communities Study Committee Meeting
2022-07-22 10:00 - 12:00
As a member of the Opioid Task Force of Franklin County and the North Quabbin Region (Opioid Task Force), you were invited earlier this year to attend the January 28th Franklin County and North Quabbin HEALing Communities Study Kickoff to learn more about the HEALing Communities Study (HCS), which is a national research study funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). This groundbreaking effort is working to mitigate the deadly impact of opioid misuse, which has sadly claimed the lives of 222 individuals in our rural communities between 2013 and 2021.
Our participation in the study as a “Wave 2 Community Cluster” officially began on July 1, 2022. To that end, we are holding our first official Franklin County and North Quabbin HEALing Communities meeting as part of the Opioid Task Force’s Healthcare Solutions Committee work, on Friday, July 22, 2022, from 10 AM – to 12 Noon, via Zoom. You can access the Zoom link here.

Healthcare Solutions Committee Meeting
2022-07-22 10:00 - 12:00

Saving Lives: Boston's Community Syringe Redemption Program
2022-07-21 14:00 - 15:00
Join us as we learn more about Boston’s Community Syringe Redemption Program, developed by the Addiction Response Resources (ARR), featuring Allie Hunter, Co-Founder of ARR. This effort “reduces the amount of unsafely discarded needles by offering a cash incentive for enrolled adults to return syringes.” You can register for this event here: https://us02web.zoom.us/…/tZwucu6vqT0jGdK6sTaZl4P1vPCQo…

The program was launched in the City of Boston in December 2020 with support from the Boston Public Health Commission and the RIZE Foundation. Their approach “was based on the idea that a small cash “buy back” incentive would encourage safe disposal of syringes, improve quality of life, reduce public safety concerns, and reduce service requests related to syringes.” Additionally, the program also “sought to create a low threshold income-earning opportunity, develop job readiness skills, expand access to life-saving overdose prevention resources, increase engagement, and create a new access point for services.”

The program “surpassed their initial goal of collecting 1,000 syringes per week, collecting …1,738,693 syringes to date, averaging 4,427 syringes collected per day (average of 22,135 syringes collected per week). Since the program’s onset, a total of 2,094 people have enrolled in the program, averaging 86 visits per day.”

Reinventing Justice: A Look at the New Office of Community Corrections
2022-07-07 14:00 - 15:00
Join us as we learn more about the newly opened Office of Community Corrections, located at 106 Main Street in Greenfield, Massachusetts, managed by the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office. You can register for this free event, here, to learn more.

This effort will offer a range of programs and resources for formerly incarcerated individuals in a trauma-informed setting.
Featuring:
*Levin Schwartz, LICSW, Assistant Deputy Superintendent, Clinical and Reentry Services
*Nicole Guertin, LICSW, Clinical Reentry Supervisor
*Jen Brzezinski, LCSW, Clinician

Overdose Prevention & Narcan Training
2022-06-24 11:00 - 12:30
Please join us at this virtual 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. This training is free and open to all interested community members.
Register here!

Four-Part Training Services for Behavioral Health Clinicians about Commercial Sexual Exploitation with Dr. Abigail Judge
2022-06-22 09:00 - 10:30, 2022-06-15 09:00 - 10:30
Please join us as we will be working with Dr. Abigail Judge starting Wednesday, June 1st, 9 AM – 10:30 AM. This is the first of a four-part training series developed especially for behavioral health providers to learn how better support survivors of commercial sexual exploitation. You can register for this free series, here. The remaining sessions are scheduled for June 8, 15, and 22, from 9 AM – 10:30 AM, via Zoom
Commercial sexual exploitation (CSE) frequently occurs in relationships of coercion, trauma bonding, and fierce emotional attachment. Understanding these relationships is critical to healing but can be a source of confusion, frustration, and burnout among service providers.

These sessions will go in-depth to focus on the complex psychological relationship between individual and exploiter and describe how professionals can build relationships of trust and mutuality when CSE is ongoing or historical. Since victims and survivors are unlikely to initially self-identify as exploited, or use these clinical terms, a specialized approach to creating shared language and engaging individuals at different phases of CSE will also be described.

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, which 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.

CORI Expungement and Sealing: A Primer with Community Legal Aid
2022-06-16 14:00 - 15:00
Join Community Legal Aid Staff Attorney, Alyssa Golden, as she walks through the steps to expunge marijuana offenses and seal or expunge other offenses. Criminal records (CORIs) are often accessed by employers, housing authorities, and other entities. Individuals who have CORIs often find themselves facing significant barriers to access to housing and employment due to CORI issues.
Participants will learn how:
*The CORI system works
*To obtain a copy of your CORI records
*To learn the steps to seal or expunge records
*To learn about your legal rights under the law
You can register for this free event, here.

Housing & Workforce Development Committee Meeting
2022-06-10 10:00 - 12:00
This meeting is open to the public. Please email info@opioidtaskforce.org for details on how to participate.
