Opioid Task Force

Narcan as First Aid: Accessing Narcan in Public Spaces
2024-09-26 14:00 - 15:00 (America/New_York)
To commemorate National Recovery Month, the Opioid Task Force of Franklin County and the North Quabbin Region, in collaboration with Tapestry, the Franklin Regional Council of Governments, the North Quabbin Community Coalition, and the North Quabbin Recovery Center, invites you to a community conversation, “Narcan as First Aid: Accessing Narcan in Public Spaces.” This session will be held on Thursday, September 26, 2024, from 2 PM to 3 PM. One can register for this free event here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZMocu-uqzssHNJmFqNMZXocib6Ajcr2F_hq
This interactive educational session will focus on the importance of Narcan access in our community and where to find it. It will also discuss the successful installation of 43 public access naloxone (Narcan) containers throughout our rural region, how this idea originated, how they are used, and our plans to install more as this effort has drawn more collaborators.
Featuring speakers from the following organizations:

Liz Whynott, Harm Reduction Director, and Katy Lessard, Office Manager, Northampton and Greenfield, Tapestry
Heather Bialecki-Canning, Executive Director, North Quabbin Community Coalition, and Sarah Collins, Assistant Executive Director, North Quabbin Community Coalition, and Program Director, North Quabbin Recovery Center
Maureen O’Reilly, Epidemiologist, Franklin Regional Council of Governments
Nicole St. Hilaire, Outreach Manager, CONNECT, Opioid Task Force of Franklin County and the North Quabbin Region

Part of the 2024 Opioid Task Force HEALing Communities Study Lessons Learned Educational Series.
2024.09.26 Narcan as First Aid Flyer

Healthcare Solutions Committee Meeting
2024-09-20 10:00 - 11:30
Please join us for our Healthcare Solutions Committee meeting. For more information on how to participate, please contact Debra McLaughlin, Coordinator/OTF at debmc@opioidtaskforce.org.
Note: This meeting was rescheduled from September 13, 2024 to September 20, 2024. Please make a note in your calendars.

Methadone Workgroup Meeting
2024-09-19 15:00 - 16:00
Please join us for our Methadone Workgroup meeting, a project of OTF’s Healthcare Solutions Committee. For more information on how to participate, please contact Debra McLaughlin, Coordinator/OTF at debmc@opioidtaskforce.org.
Please note that the August 8, 2024 meeting was rescheduled to Thursday, September 19, 2024 at 3 PM.

Overdose Prevention & Narcan Training
2024-09-19 14:00 - 15:00
Don’t let the summer go by without learning how to save a life at an upcoming virtual Overdose Prevention and Narcan training facilitated by Tapestry. This is a reminder that this training will be held tomorrow, Thursday, September 19, 2024 from 2 PM to 3 PM. You can register using the following link: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZIpf-2trTstGN1gFk54JLB9DhGJ65vSY0Nb.

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?

Questions? Feel free to reach out at narcan@opioidtaskforce.org.

This is part of our 2024 virtual Overdose Prevention and Narcan training series organized by Tapestry and the Opioid Task Force of Franklin County and the North Quabbin Region.
Please help us spread the word! A flyer has been attached.
Thanks so much, and we look forward to seeing you there!
Best,
The Tapestry and OTF Teams

CAM Workgroup Meeting
2024-09-17 11:00 - 12:00
Please join us for our Complementary & Alternative Medicines (CAM) Workgroup meeting, a project of OTF’s Healthcare Solutions Committee. For more information on how to participate, please contact Karen Carmona, Program Associate at karen@opioidtaskforce.org.

Navigating the Massachusetts Courts? How the Court Services Centers Can Help!
2024-09-12 14:00 - 15:00
Join Mary Klaes, Esq., Manager of the Greenfield Court Service Center, Liz Johnson, Staff Attorney, and Alejandra Palmi, Support Specialist, all located within the Franklin County Justice Center, to learn more about their free services for navigating the Massachusetts Court system.
This virtual information session, scheduled for Thursday, September 12, 2024, from 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM, will help participants understand the following:

The purpose of the Court Service Centers across the Commonwealth.
The types of in-person and virtual services, including bi-lingual services, the Court Service Centers provide and how to access them in Greenfield and online.
A review of the topics they can assist with, such as divorce, custody, restraining orders, tenant/landlord disputes, and more.

For more information about the available services of the eight Massachusetts Court Services Centers state-wide and the virtual one, please visit https://www.mass.gov/info-details/learn-about-court-service-centers.
One can register for this free event here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZIkcOygrjkrHtZog0ocT8kArcQJlgQlvR7v
Part of the 2024 Opioid Task Force Education Series.
2024.09.12 CSC Revised Final Flyer

What We Did, What We Learned: A Community Meeting to Discuss HEALing Communities Study (HCS) Findings
2024-09-11 14:00 - 15:30 | Olver Transit Center, 12 Olive Street, Greenfield, MA, 01301, United States
Please join the Opioid Task Force of Franklin County and the North Quabbin Region on Wednesday, September 11, 2024, from 2 PM – 3:30 PM for “What We Did, What We Learned: A Community Meeting to Discuss HEALing Communities Study Findings” with Dr. Jeffrey Samet, Massachusetts HCS Principal Investigator, and Carly Bridden, Massachusetts HCS Project Manager, of Boston Medical Center. Please RSVP for this free, in-person event here, to be held at the Olver Transit Center, 12 Olive Street in Greenfield, in the Allen Meeting Room.
Light refreshments will be served, and parking is available at the Olive Street Parking Garage. More information about the garage and hourly parking rates can be found here.
This gathering will provide the Opioid Task Force and other community members an opportunity to reflect on the HCS national findings, which “showed the intervention did not impact opioid-related overdose deaths over the evaluation period.”
However, our participation in the study yielded an array of positive outcomes, including a reduction in overdose fatalities over the study period. It also allowed us to create Addiction Consult Services at Baystate Franklin Medical Center Emergency Department, install public access naloxone containers, create a process to offer recovery coaching at Baystate Franklin Medical Center Emergency Department, and more.
This session allows us to understand our work in the context of a national study and how we are building on and sustaining our HCS successes.
Launched in 2019, the HEALing Communities Study was a bold experiment. Part of its approach was to invest 343.7 million dollars in 67 communities across the four states of Kentucky, Massachusetts, New York, and Ohio to reduce opioid-related fatalities using various strategies to implement three goals: 1) increasing naloxone distribution and overdose prevention education, 2) increasing access to medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD), and 3) improving opioid prescribing safety.

Massachusetts had 16 communities participating in the study, of which the four Franklin County and North Quabbin communities of Athol, Greenfield, Montague, and Orange were combined into one community cluster.
This event is part of an educational series organized by the Opioid Task Force to share lessons learned from our 18-month participation in the national HEALing Communities Study (HCS) from July 1, 2022, to December 31, 2023. More information about the national HEALing Communities Study can be found here.
If you have questions or seek additional information, please email info@opioidtaskforce.org.
We hope to see you there!

Education & Prevention Committee Meeting
2024-09-10 09:30 - 11:00, 2024-08-13 09:30 - 11:00, 2024-07-09 09:30 - 11:00
Please join us for our Education & Prevention Committee meeting. For more information on how to participate, please contact Karen Carmona, Program Associate at karen@opioidtaskforce.org.

Sexual Exploitation and Trafficking Workgroup Meeting
2024-09-09 13:00 - 14:00, 2024-08-12 13:00 - 14:00, 2024-07-08 13:00 - 14:00
Please join us for the Sexual Exploitation and Trafficking Workgroup meeting, co-facilitated by the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office and the Opioid Task Force. For more information on how to join, please email Karen Carmona, Program Associate/OTF at karen@opioidtaskforce.org.

Emergency Services for Unhoused Individuals Task Force Meeting
2024-09-09 09:30 - 10:45, 2024-08-12 09:30 - 10:45
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 Kristen Cuddy-Pease, Program Associate and Project Manager/ARISE Initiative, at kristen@opioidtaskforce.org.

Treatment & Recovery Committee Meeting
2024-09-06 10:00 - 11:30
Please join us for our Treatment & Recovery Committee meeting. For more information on how to participate, please contact Debra McLaughlin, Coordinator/OTF at debmc@opioidtaskforce.org.

Harm Reduction Workgroup Meeting
2024-09-04 11:00 - 12:00
Please join us for our Harm Reduction Workgroup meeting, a project of OTF’s Treatment & Recovery Committee. For more information on how to participate, please contact Nicole St. Hilaire, Outreach Manager/CONNECT at nicole@opioidtaskforce.org.

Overdose Prevention & Narcan Training
2024-08-22 14:00 - 15:00
Don’t let the summer go by without learning how to save a life at an upcoming virtual Overdose Prevention and Narcan training facilitated by Tapestry. This is a reminder that this training will be held tomorrow, Thursday, August 22, 2024 from 2 PM to 3 PM. You can register using the following link: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZIpf-2trTstGN1gFk54JLB9DhGJ65vSY0Nb.

Can’t make it? We have one other session planned for this summer. It will be held on:

Thursday, September 19, 2024, at 2 PM. Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZIpf-2trTstGN1gFk54JLB9DhGJ65vSY0Nb

(Please note that we use the same registration link, and you can select which session you’d like to attend.)

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?

Questions? Feel free to reach out at narcan@opioidtaskforce.org.

This is part of our 2024 virtual Overdose Prevention and Narcan training series organized by Tapestry and the Opioid Task Force of Franklin County and the North Quabbin Region.
Please help us spread the word! A flyer has been attached.
Thanks so much, and we look forward to seeing you there!
Best,
The Tapestry and OTF Teams

Building a Resilient Community Workgroup Meeting
2024-08-21 11:00 - 12:00, 2024-07-17 11:00 - 12:00
Please join us for our Building a Resilient Community Workgroup, a project of OTF’s Education & Prevention Committee. For more information on how to participate, please contact Karen Carmona, Program Associate at karen@opioidtaskforce.org.

RESCHEDULED to September 17, 2024, at 11 AM - CAM Workgroup Meeting
2024-08-13 11:00 - 12:00
Please join us for our Complementary & Alternative Medicines (CAM) Workgroup meeting, a project of OTF’s Healthcare Solutions Committee. For more information on how to participate, please contact Karen Carmona, Program Associate at karen@opioidtaskforce.org.
Please note that the August 13, 2024 CAM Workgroup Meeting has been rescheduled to Wednesday, September 17, 2024 at 11 AM.

CANCELED: Housing & Workforce Development Committee Meeting
2024-08-09 10:00 - 11:30
Please join us for our Housing & Workforce Development Committee meeting. For more information on how to participate, please contact Kristen Pease, Program Associate and Project Manager/ARISE Initiative at kristen@opioidtaskforce.org.

Rescheduled to Thursday, September 19: Methadone Workgroup Meeting
2024-08-08 15:00 - 16:00
Please join us for our Methadone Workgroup meeting, a project of OTF’s Healthcare Solutions Committee. For more information on how to participate, please contact Debra McLaughlin, Coordinator/OTF at debmc@opioidtaskforce.org.
Please note that the August 8, 2024 meeting has been rescheduled to Thursday, September 19, 2024 at 3 PM.

CANCELED: Harm Reduction Workgroup Meeting
2024-08-07 11:00 - 12:00
Please join us for our Harm Reduction Workgroup meeting, a project of OTF’s Treatment & Recovery Committee. For more information on how to participate, please contact Nicole St. Hilaire, Outreach Manager, /CONNECT at nicole@opioidtaskforce.org.

CANCELED: Public Safety & Justice Committee Meeting
2024-08-05 13:00 - 14:00
Please join us for our Public Safety & Justice Committee meeting. For more information on how to participate, please contact Nicole St. Hilaire, Outreach Manager/CONNECT at nicole@opioidtaskforce.org.

CANCELED: Treatment & Recovery Committee Meeting
2024-08-02 10:00 - 11:30
Please join us for our Treatment & Recovery Committee meeting. For more information on how to participate, please contact Debra McLaughlin, Coordinator, at debmc@opioidtaskforce.org.

Using Communications Strategies to Prevent Overdose: Part of the 2024 HEALing Communities Study Lessons Learned Educational Series
2024-07-25 14:00 - 15:00
Launched in 2019, the HEALing Communities Study was a bold experiment. Part of its approach was to invest 343.7 million dollars in 67 communities across the four states of Kentucky, Massachusetts, New York, and Ohio to reduce opioid-related fatalities using various strategies to implement three goals: 1) increasing naloxone distribution and overdose prevention education, 2) increasing access to medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD), and 3) improving opioid prescribing safety.
Massachusetts had 16 communities participating in the study, of which the four Franklin County and North Quabbin communities of Athol, Greenfield, Montague, and Orange were combined into one community cluster. The Opioid Task Force is launching an educational series to share lessons learned from our 18-month study implementation experience.
We are focusing on “Communication Strategies to Prevent Overdose” for this session, scheduled for July 25 at 2 PM. You can register for this free event here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYkcOmgrDssGNwqarKUIRQBxZgpLLEV-nsH
Featuring Karen Carmona, OTF’s Program Associate and HCS Communications Consultant, participants will view the array of communication materials created for the study, learn how they were used, and provide input into what else is needed to provide information about opioid use disorder and available resources in rural Franklin County and the North Quabbin Region.

Overdose Prevention & Narcan Training
2024-07-18 14:00 - 15:00
Don’t let the summer go by without learning how to save a life at an upcoming virtual Overdose Prevention and Narcan training facilitated by Tapestry. This is a reminder that this training will be held tomorrow, Thursday, July 18, 2024, from 2 PM to 3 PM. You can register using the following link: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZIpf-2trTstGN1gFk54JLB9DhGJ65vSY0Nb.

Can’t make it? We have two other sessions planned for this summer. They will be held on:

Thursday, August 22, 2024, at 2 PM. Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZIpf-2trTstGN1gFk54JLB9DhGJ65vSY0Nb
Thursday, September 19, 2024, at 2 PM. Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZIpf-2trTstGN1gFk54JLB9DhGJ65vSY0Nb

(Please note that we use the same registration link, and you can select which session you’d like to attend.)

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?

Questions? Feel free to reach out at narcan@opioidtaskforce.org.

This is part of our 2024 virtual Overdose Prevention and Narcan training series organized by Tapestry and the Opioid Task Force of Franklin County and the North Quabbin Region.
Please help us spread the word! A flyer has been attached.
Thanks so much, and we look forward to seeing you there!
Best,
The Tapestry and OTF Teams

Joint Treatment & Recovery Committee and Healthcare Solutions Committee Meeting
2024-07-12 10:00 - 11:30
Please join us for our Joint Treatment & Recovery Committee and Healthcare Solutions Committee meeting. For more information on how to participate, please contact Debra McLaughlin, Coordinator/OTF at debmc@opioidtaskforce.org.
(Note: This meeting is scheduled a week later than usual because of the July 4th holiday weekend.)

Harm Reduction Workgroup Meeting
2024-07-10 11:00 - 12:00
Please join us for our Harm Reduction Workgroup meeting, a project of OTF’s Treatment & Recovery Committee. For more information on how to participate, please contact Tiarra Fisher, Operations Coordinator/CONNECT at tiarra@opioidtaskforce.org.
