Recent news is full of stories about addiction, and not just the reports about arrests and overdoses. The good news is that more and more, we view addiction as a health-care condition, and we understand and support the life-saving measures available to manage the physical dependence. The media reflects this shift in attitude and covers things like new approaches to treatment and recovery; legislative efforts like the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act and bills to combat the nation’s opiate crisis to ensure medical support is available to people struggling with substance abuse; more specialized programs, like Vermont’s Hub and Spoke provider system which supports people in medicated-assisted recovery from opiate addiction; programs like pre-trial services that redirect people to treatment rather than court when the situation allows it; and peer-recovery services that help people not only stop destructive behaviors but adopt healthy practices to thrive.
Bring your questions and comments a community conversation entitled “The Ways to Think about and Talk about Addiction: A Community Conversation on Stigma.” This event will be held on Thursday, June 2, 2016 from 4:30 to 5:45 p.m. at Brooks Memorial Library, 224 Main Street Brattleboro. Dr. Geoffrey Kane will moderate the conversation, hosted by the local Community Opioid Response Committee. This committee arose from Governor Peter Shumlin’s 2014 State of the State address on Vermont’s opiate crisis. That June, he convened a statewide Opiate Forum, and then charged local communities to continue the work. The Community Opioid Response Committee is a collaboration between various community partners including the Vermont Department of Health, Brattleboro Area Prevention Coalition, Turning Point of Windham County, Nar-Anon Family Groups, Brattleboro Retreat, and community members—everyone who shares a concern about how our community deals with addiction and supports individuals and families who are affected by substance-abuse issues.
It will be a safe environment to ask questions. BCTV will be live-streaming the conversation. Contact bapc802@gmail.com or 257-2175 for more info.