by LaMara HunterKelly | Dec 23, 2016 | In The News
By SHELBY ASHLINE
Recorder Staff
Thursday, December 22, 2016
GREENFIELD — The navy blue couches at The RECOVER Project were piled high with stuffed animals, board games, books, clothes and an abundance of other toys Thursday morning, marking the third year of Giving Back in Greenfield.
Through Giving Back in Greenfield, staff at The RECOVER Project — a peer-to-peer addiction recovery group — collected new and used toy donations for several weeks. Families in need were then welcomed into The RECOVER Project’s offices on Federal Street to pick out a few items from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday.
The program, according to organizer Heather Taylor, is intended to ensure that all local children will have presents come Christmas Day, regardless of what their families can afford. Taylor said families came from across Franklin County and even as far away as Springfield to take advantage of Giving Back in Greenfield, displaying significant gratitude for the invaluable help in getting toys for their own children and relatives.
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by LaMara HunterKelly | Dec 19, 2016 | In The News
GREENFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) – A non-profit organization in Greenfield is trying to help families in need over the holidays.
It’s the third year in a row the Recover Project in Greenfield has run their toy drive. The non-profit organization is collecting new and used toys for children of all ages.
Toys have included sports equipment, clothing, coloring books, and board games. Families will be able to come pick out gifts, December 22nd, which is also the last day donate.
The toy drive was started by a volunteer at the Recover Project as a way to give back to the community.
Peggy Arce, Peer-Coordinator of Recover Project, told 22 News, “Those of us in recovery have had struggles in our lives and today we are able to give back to the community in this way and many other ways also.”
(See full story and video here)
by LaMara HunterKelly | Nov 22, 2016 | In The News
Michael Lewis, Director of the Recover Project, at the Federal Street location.
The Recorder – Monday, November 21, 2016
GREENFIELD — The Opioid Task Force of Franklin County and the North Quabbin Region is teaming up with Big Y Foods to lighten the load faced by some during the holiday season. Until Thanksgiving, the task force will distribute 200 turkeys throughout the region to community organizations and families in need…Michael Lewis, director of the RECOVER Project, said the donations represent the strong community connections that are embedded in Franklin County. “We deeply appreciate the Opioid Task Force’s support and partnership in the complex and multifaceted effort to support long-term recovery in Franklin County. We’re grateful for the opportunity to continue to work toward recovery for all and would like to thank the Task Force for their donation of turkeys to our recovery family for the Thanksgiving holiday.”
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by LaMara HunterKelly | Nov 17, 2016 | In The News
GREENFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) – The City of Greenfield is working to make sure no child in the city wakes up on Christmas morning without gifts under the tree.
The 3rd annual “Giving Back in Greenfield” toy drive has officially started. The city is asking for new and/or gently used donated toys for children 17 years or younger. The toys can be dropped off at the Recover Project at 68 Federal Street. Visit the “Giving Back in Greenfield” Facebook page for more information.
The week of Christmas, families who are unable to afford gifts for their children, can come pick out donations at the Recover Project.
22News is also accepting toys starting on November 28th for Toys for Tots. Click Here to find out how to donate or request a toy.
Click HERE to watch the video from WWLP.
![Narcan case aims to increase awareness, save lives]()
by LaMara HunterKelly | Nov 17, 2016 | In The News
Recorder Staff/Tom Relihan Sarah Ahern of Greenfield demonstrates the use of a new Narcan carrying case designed to increase access to the lifesaving overdose reversal medication and reduce the stigma around opioid addiction.By TOM RELIHAN
For the Gazette
Tuesday, November 15, 2016
GREENFIELD — Minutes matter when a person is experiencing an opioid overdose, and the quicker a person can administer the life-saving medication Narcan, the better are the odds of survival.
Now, one local addiction activist is working with a nonprofit organization that rose out of a recent Opioid Epidemic Hackathon in Boston — We Are Allies Inc. — to develop a field case that will allow people to carry the medication with them without it spoiling, and respond quickly in an emergency.
The bright purple case is designed to be worn outwardly, clipped to a hand bag or belt loop, said Sarah Ahern, the local activist and founder of addiction awareness group End The Stigma.
“The idea is to destigmatize the disease and enlist a community response,” Ahern said.
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by LaMara HunterKelly | Oct 31, 2016 | In The News
Senate President Stanley Rosenberg visited the RECOVER Project on Federal Street Wednesday for a roundtable discussion on addiction.By TOM RELIHAN
Recorder Staff
Wednesday, October 26, 2016
GREENFIELD — Despite a coordinated push over the last few years to increase substance abuse support and recovery services in Franklin County, there are still some holes in the net.
State Senate President Stanley Rosenberg heard from members of the local recovery community and the regional Opioid Task Force Wednesday afternoon about exactly which ones they’d like him to focus on plugging up during the next legislative term at a roundtable discussion at The RECOVER Project…
(continue reading here)
