Emergency Services for Unhoused Individuals Task Force Meeting
2023-04-24 09:30 - 10:45, 2023-05-22 09:30 - 10:45, 2023-06-26 09:30 - 10:45 (America/New_York)
Please join our monthly meeting to discuss the emergency needs of unhoused individuals in the Franklin County and North Quabbin Region. To learn more about how to participate, please contact Cathi Emery, Office, and Data Manager, at Cathi@opioidtaskforce.org.

Massachusetts Opioid Settlement Funding 101: What it Means for Your Community
2023-04-27 14:00 - 15:00
Over $50 billion dollars has been awarded nationwide as a result of successful litigation to hold pharmaceutical companies accountable for “fueling the opioid crisis through actions like downplaying the risks of prescription opioids and promoting the use of the drugs.” The Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office, under the leadership of Maura Healey, led these national efforts, which resulted in Massachusetts receiving nearly $927M to support a range of opioid-related interventions. Learn more about how these efforts on Thursday, April 27, 2023, from 2 PM – 3 PM for “Massachusetts Opioid Settlement Funding 101: What it Means for Your Community” with Catherine Madden, Project Manager, Opiate Task Force, Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office, and Phoebe Walker, Community Services Director, Franklin Regional Council of Governments. Participants will learn: *How the Commonwealth of Massachusetts benefits from these opioid settlement dollars. *How the state and municipalities are able to fund activities to mitigate the harm of over-prescribed opioids in their communities. *How to ask questions about funds available to municipalities at town meetings.

You can register for this free event here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUufu-vpzwoEtcoBKT9EXvc0FazrE5lIfhu.

Harm Reduction Workgroup Meeting
2023-05-03 11:00 - 12:00, 2023-06-07 11:00 - 12:00
Please join us for our monthly Harm Reduction Workgroup meeting. For more information on how to participate, please contact Cathi Emery, Office and Data Manager at cathi@opioidtaskforce.org.

413Cares: A Primer
2023-05-04 14:00 - 15:00
Please join us Thursday, May 4, 2023, from 2 PM – 3 PM, as we learn more about 413Cares, an interactive, online tool to connect people with resources in Franklin County and the North Quabbin Region as part of a Western Massachusetts database, now that Look4Help ceased its operations as of February 28, 2023. You can register for this free event here:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUtcuqgrj0uEtJ92X0e9XoKTCyH60ZGkHAn

Liv Anna Homstead, Coalition Building Manager, and Francheska Bermudez, 413Cares Program Coordinator, of the Public Health Institute of Western MA will be on hand to help people:

See how 413Cares is set up and organized.
Learn how your organizations can access many helpful tools to participate.
Find and connect to community services.
Get your questions answered.

Treatment & Recovery Committee Meeting
2023-05-05 10:00 - 11:30, 2023-06-02 10:00 - 11:30
Please join us for our monthly Treatment & Recovery Committee meeting. For more information on how to participate, please contact Cathi Emery, Office and Data Manager at cathi@opioidtaskforce.org.

Human Trafficking & Sexual Exploitation Workgroup Meeting
2023-05-08 13:00 - 14:30
Please join our monthly meeting of the Human Trafficking & Sexual Exploitation Workgroup, co-facilitated by the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office and the Opioid Task Force. For more information on how to participate, please contact Karen Carmona, Program Associate at karen@opioidtaskforce.org.

Education & Prevention Committee Meeting
2023-05-09 09:30 - 11:00
Please join us for our Education & Prevention Committee meeting. For more information on how to participate, please contact Cathi Emery, Office and Data Manager at cathi@opioidtaskforce.org.

HEALing Communities Study Meeting
2023-05-17 14:00 - 16:00, 2023-06-21 14:00 - 16:00, 2023-07-19 14:00 - 16:00
Please join us for the monthly meeting of the HEALing Communities Study (HCS) effort in the Franklin County and North Quabbin Region. For more information on how to participate, please contact Tiarra Fisher, HCS Community Study Coordinator at tiarra@opioidtaskforce.org.

Healthcare Solutions Committee Meeting
2023-05-19 10:00 - 12:00
Join us for the Healthcare Solutions Committee meeting. Please contact Cathi Emery, Office & Data Manager for information on how to participate at cathi@opioidtaskforce.org.

The Franklin County Reentry Center: A Year Later
2023-06-01 14:00 - 15:00
Please join us for “The Franklin County Reentry Center: A Year Later” scheduled for Thursday, June 1, 2023, 2 PM – 3 PM, via Zoom. One can register for this free event here.

Prior to the pandemic, the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office received funding to open the Franklin County Reentry Center, located at 106 Main Street in Greenfield, Massachusetts. Open for nearly a year, the Franklin County Reentry Center offers a range of exciting programs and resources for formerly incarcerated individuals in a trauma-informed setting. This session will provide additional information about the vision, aim, and goals of this effort, featuring speakers such as

Jen Brzezinski, LCSW, Manager, Franklin County Reentry Center
Laurie Kamansky, LADC1, CADC, Reentry Supervisor
Ken Chartrand, Reentry Planner
Jenn Avery, Reentry Caseworker
Ruben Mercado, Reentry Caseworker
Louis Freilicher, CHW, Reentry Caseworker
Courtney Silva, M.Ed, Reentry Caseworker
Mickey Armenti, Reentry Caseworker

Public Safety & Justice Committee Meeting
2023-06-05 13:00 - 14:30
Please join us for our Public Safety & Justice Committee meeting. For more information on how to participate, please contact Cathi Emery, Office and Data Manager at cathi@opioidtaskforce.org.

Methadone Workgroup Meeting
2023-06-08 15:00 - 16:00, 2023-07-13 15:00 - 16:00
Please join us for our monthly meeting of the Methadone Workgroup. For more information on how to participate, please contact Cathi Emery, Office and Data Manager at cathi@opioidtaskforce.org.

Canceled: Housing & Workforce Development Committee Meeting
2023-06-09 10:00 - 12:00
This meeting was canceled to accommodate the inaugural “Second Chances: Building Recovery-Friendly Workplaces in Franklin County and the North Quabbin” event, held at Greenfield Community College on June 9, 2023, from 10 AM -1 2 Noon.
For future Housing & Workforce Development Committee meetings, please consult our calendar or Facebook page. Otherwise, for more information on how to participate, please contact Cathi Emery, Office, and Data Manager at cathi@opioidtaskforce.org.

Second Chances: Building Recovery Friendly Workplaces in Franklin County and the North Quabbin Region
2023-06-09 10:00 - 12:00
Nearly 24 million or 10% of people who live in the United States report they are in recovery from substance misuse, which translates to nearly 9.000 individuals in the Franklin County/North Quabbin Region of Western Massachusetts. Research also shows that access to education and training opportunities and life skills training is an essential part of the continuum of care for individuals in recovery from a substance use disorder.

So please join us for the inaugural “Second Chances: Building Recovery-Friendly Workplaces in Franklin County and the North Quabbin” on Friday, June 9, 2023, from 10 AM – 12 Noon, where we will learn more about what it takes to support people in our rural region whose employment and educational trajectories were interrupted as a result of their addiction to substances.
This gathering will be held at Greenfield Community College, Dining Commons, One College Drive, Greenfield, MA. A light breakfast will be served. One can register here.

Sponsored by the Opioid Task Force of Franklin County and the North Quabbin Region, Greenfield Community College, Franklin/Hampshire MassHire Workforce Development Board, and GAAMHA.

For more information, please contact Kristen Pease, Program Associate and ARISE Project Manager at kristen@opioidtaskforce.org.

Canceled: Human Trafficking & Sexual Exploitation Workgroup Meeting
2023-06-12 13:00 - 14:30, 2023-07-10 13:00 - 14:30

CAM Workgroup Meeting
2023-06-13 11:00 - 12:00
Please join us for our Complementary & Alternative Medicines (CAM) Workgroup meeting. For more information on how to participate, please contact Cathi Emery, Office and Data Manager at cathi@opioidtaskforce.org.

Know Your Rights: CORI Sealing & Expungement
2023-06-15 14:00 - 15:00
We hope you can participate in an information session on Thursday, June 15, 2023, at 2 PM that will focus on “Know Your Rights: CORI Sealing & Expungement”. One can register for this free event using this link: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZwuduyqrDsiHdMeOMJ588EVdClOQiN27gL5
Join Alyssa Golden, Senior Supervising Attorney of the CORI/Reentry Unit at Community Legal Aid, as she walks through the steps to seal or expunge marijuana and other offenses, and your legal rights when seeking public or subsidized housing or a job with a criminal record and/or substance use disorder.
This is part of Community Legal Aid and the Opioid Task Force’s ongoing efforts to offer information and resources to individuals and entities who experience barriers to obtaining housing and employment as a result of their history of incarceration and/or substance use disorder.

Building a Resilient Community Workgroup Meeting
2023-06-21 11:00 - 12:00
Please join us for our monthly meeting of the Building a Resilient Community Workgroup. For more information on how to participate, please contact Karen Carmona, Program Associate at karen@opioidtaskforce.org.

BH-JI / The Justice Involved Program at CHD
2023-06-22 14:00 - 15:00
Please join us on Thursday, June 22, 2023, 2 PM – 3 PM, as we learn more about the Behavioral Health Supports for Justice-Involved Individuals (BH-JI) from Amanda Cove-Foster, LMHC, Justice Involved Program Director, Clinic Clinical Supervisor (BH-JI/CSP-JI), CHD Outpatient Clinic, in Greenfield, MA. One can register for this free Zoom event, here.

According to Mass.gov, BH-JI “is a partnership between the Massachusetts Executive Office of Health and Human Services (EOHHS) and the Massachusetts Executive Office of the Trial Court (Trial Court). BH-JI helps people who are “justice-involved,” including:

• people leaving jail or prison within six months,
• people who have recently left jail or prison within a year, • people on parole, and • people on probation to connect with behavioral health services and social supports in the community.”

Welcoming New Immigrant & Refugee Families in Greenfield: How to Help
2023-06-23 13:00 - 14:30
Please join Mayor Roxann Wedegartner and Jennifer Hoffman, Health Director, from the City of Greenfield with Marisa Perez, Program Manager, from ServiceNet this Friday afternoon, June 23, 2023, from 1 PM – 2:30 PM, as they brief the community on the status of unhoused immigrant and refugee families placed at Days Inn by the Commonwealth as a temporary shelter. Sheriff Christopher J. Donelan, Co-Chair of the Opioid Task Force, will moderate this session.

One can register for this event here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYuceyurTgpEtxy2G1zCa2h4NxEYkUNsy0Q.
This information session will provide an update to the community and will specify what is needed to not only support these new families but also the Days Inn staff.
In the meantime, members of the community are asked to not show up at the Days Inn without first contacting the Greenfield Health Department at 413.774.1404. The lack of storage at the Days Inn is a significant issue, and the Greenfield Health Department is coordinating the delivery of goods and services in concert with other entities.

Canceled: Harm Reduction Workgroup Meeting
2023-07-05 11:00 - 12:00

Canceled: Treatment & Recovery Committee Meeting
2023-07-07 10:00 - 11:30
