by LaMara HunterKelly | Nov 1, 2019 | In The News
Amie Hyson listens during a rehearsal for “What Our Voices Carry”, Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2019 at Shea Theater in Turners Falls.By LUIS FIELDMAN
Staff Writer
Published: 11/1/2019 10:01:42 PM
Through prose and poetry, women of the group Voices From Inside find a way to express experiences that are often too difficult to talk about, whether it’s life inside of a prison or recovering from drug addiction…
“We are putting these words together to create scenes that enable us to show what women go through who are incarcerated, who have been incarcerated, who are in recovery, who have experienced domestic violence or sexual trafficking,” said Amie Hyson, a Greenfield resident who discovered Voices From Inside in March 2017 and is an actress in the play.
While in long-term recovery from prescription pain medications at The RECOVER Project in Greenfield, Hyson formed bonds with other women in the Voices From Inside workshops where women could open up about painful experiences through their writing in an environment free from personal criticism…
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by LaMara HunterKelly | Oct 24, 2019 | In The News
Cara Moser and Julie Foster look at photos and talk about their daughters after a meeting of Harm Reduction Works in July at the Northampton Recovery Center. Both women lost their daughters to opioid overdoses and now are working to promote harm reduction practices.By LAURIE LOISEL
For the Gazette
On a balmy Wednesday evening in late July, 11 people circled up on comfy couches and chairs at the Northampton Recovery Center for the weekly gathering of Harm Reduction Works, a meeting billed as an alternative to abstinence-only opioid recovery groups.
“I’m here because I feel compelled to be here,” said Cara Moser in a round of introductions. “My daughter died eight months ago, and I feel like it’s important to learn as much as we can about keeping people alive.”
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![Rally protests Baystate’s plan to close 3 mental health units]()
by LaMara HunterKelly | Sep 24, 2019 | In The News
Tim Ranney-Blake, of Deerfield, said from his experience with depression and substance abuse, he knows how difficult it would be for patients working towards recovery to do so when separated from their community, at a rally held by the Massachusetts Nurses Association in Holyoke. STAFF PHOTO/MELINA BOURDEAU
By MELINA BOURDEAU
Staff Writer
Published: 9/23/2019 11:10:38 PM
HOLYOKE – Over 40 people gathered to protest Baystate Health’s closure plan at the former site of the Holyoke Geriatric Authority building, purchased by Baystate and US HealthVest to build a for-profit mental health facility…
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Tim Ranney-Blake, of South Deerfield, spoke about his experience as a previous patient from the mental health unit at Baystate Franklin.
He said he received the support he needed which is why he advocates for others to have access to the same treatment.
“I am not going to step back,” said Ranney-Blake. “I am going to step forward and I am going to keep telling Baystate: end this partnership now. End it now. It’ll be so much easier for you if you do. In order to keep it quality, it’s got to be local and accessible.”
He said as a member of the recovery community, he knows there are people who don’t have transportation, which poses another problem.
“You’re not going to get somebody from up there down here and back in a day,” said Ranney-Blake. “Hear me and help me to say stop this partnership now.”
Charlemont resident Sarah Ahern said she is a woman who has survived traumas that have labeled her with PTSD, traumatic brain injury, depression and anxiety. Many times, Ahern said she needed inpatient care to help her manage her symptoms.
“Imagine having to navigate a broken system, involuntarily spending multiple days in an ER and sent to treatment three hours away,” Ahern said. “Now you’re beginning to understand my story.”
Ahern said she was comforted by people who knew her and who were looking out for her, and that she was sharing her story for those who do not have the resiliency that she had.
“We are not second class citizens,” Ahern said. “To move our mental health care to a for-profit setting would block access to our most vulnerable who may need it, by not taking insurance many of us have.”
by LaMara HunterKelly | Sep 19, 2019 | In The News
The RECOVER Project in Greenfield. Staff Photo/PAUL FRANZBy MAUREEN O’REILLY
Staff Writer
Published: 9/19/2019 7:06:44 PM
Modified: 9/19/2019 7:06:32 PM
GREENFIELD — Steven “Skip” Sommer’s tour of The RECOVER Project’s building led through a kitchen, a meditation room, a colorful family playroom, a computer area and down a hallway to a large room with hardwood floors and stacks of red folding chairs along one wall…
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All are welcome to attend the meeting, Vezina said, noting that recovery has a different definition to each individual. It may mean recovery from a substance abuse, mental health issues, trauma, domestic violence or something else.
“People define recovery however they define it,” Vezina said. “It doesn’t matter (how you define recovery), everyone is welcome. It’s that connection and sharing that really works to support people.
“I think that addiction often comes out of disconnect,” Vezina continued. “The antidote to that is connection and strong community.”
by LaMara HunterKelly | Aug 29, 2019 | In The News
George Ballentine, left, and Larry Thomas, both former inmates, run support groups for people who have been incarcerated and provide one-on-one mentorship. STAFF PHOTO/ANDY CASTILLO
By GRACE BIRD
Staff Writer
Published: 8/29/2019 10:35:39 PM
GREENFIELD — After spending 18 years in and out of jail, Larry Thomas returned to the Franklin County House of Correction a couple of months ago.
This time, though, Thomas wasn’t an inmate. He was there to start a support group for incarcerated men awaiting their release.
“I know what it looks like to get released from jail,” Thomas said. “So we’re able to support others with the same type of stuff.”
In Thomas’ view, he can offer authentic advice to inmates as he knows how it feels to leave jail without much support. When he was released in the past, he did not have a home or a job, and often returned to “drugs and gangs,” — and would then go back to prison again.
Thomas was last released four years ago after a stint at Connecticut state prison. This became Thomas’ final sentence, he said, attributing the turning point to finding housing at the Beacon House and receiving peer support from The RECOVER Project. He hasn’t looked back, now living in a permanent apartment and working full-time at The RECOVER Project.
Thomas’ support group, overseen by the Western Mass. Recovery Learning Community, runs Wednesdays from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at the jail.
Another group, facilitated by former inmate George Ballentine, is held outside the jail at the community center on Chapman Street in Greenfield. This group is attended by those who have already been released as well as current inmates who are transported from the jail to the center.
“Sometimes we talk about really hard life experiences, sometimes we just joke around and have fun,” Ballentine said. “It’s really nice to be in an environment where you know the individual across from you has experienced some of that same turmoil that you have.”
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by LaMara HunterKelly | Aug 27, 2019 | In The News
