Recovery Center of Hope Brings Joy and Fellowship for the Holidays
Ware – It was time of giving back and fellowship at the Recovery Center of H.O.P.E. in Ware as they provided “Warmup for the Holidays” for this past holiday season.
Healing Communities Study Belchertown/Ware and health providers came together to reduce stigma around substance use disorders
WARE, Mass. (courtesy of WWLP, Kayleigh Thomas, Digital Reporter) – Reducing the stigma around those struggling with substance use disorders brought healthcare providers together Tuesday night.
Dozens of doctors, pharmacists, nurses, and EMTs gathered Tuesday evening, to learn about anti-stigma messaging around substance use disorders. This is on the heels of a Healing Communities Study for Belchertown and Ware, finding problematic overdose deaths.
This event served as a reminder that people and their families are in need of support and resources. It pointed out that substance abuse disorders are medical conditions, and not to be seen as a sign of moral weakness.
“We’re hoping that with more naloxone in the community, more resources, that people aren’t as isolated and stuck in shame about their substance use,” said Healing Communities Study Coordinator for Belchertown and Ware, Alyssa Curran. “That they are actually getting outside, getting some help connecting with others and knowing that they are not alone.”
There was also a big push to make methadone treatment more accessible to rural Eastern Quabbin communities. Mobile solutions to bring treatment out to those areas is in the planning stages.
Peer Recovery Center in Ware Receives Activation Fund Grant
By Miasha Lee
WARE – The Ware Regional Recovery Center has received a 2022 Activation Fund grant from the Health Foundation of Central Massachusetts.
The Ware Regional Recovery Center is a program of the Western Massachusetts Training Consortium. A peer-driven support center where folks with lived experience and early recovery come together and provide support to one another through offering activities, various groups and meaningful one-on one connections. The grant funds will help the center provide outreach support, educational materials, promotional brochures, technology, and signage. It will also support the relaunch of the center in its new location at 52 Main St. and a new name, the Recovery Center of H.O.P.E. (Healing Ourselves with Peers Everywhere).
Executive Director Kristel Applebee of the Western Massachusetts Training Consortium said, “We wanted community members to have a sense of ownership around their peer recovery support center and to be more reflective of the eighteen towns and communities around us. We want center participants to be contributing citizens in their community and ambassadors for what recovery can be like and what’s possible.”
She continued, “We are absolutely thrilled at receiving this grant. This is our first time receiving a grant from the Health Foundation of Central Massachusetts. The focus of these grants in particular are supporting organizations going through transition. We’re really grateful for their partnership and this funding.”
Applebee told Reminder Publishing this grant affords them to focus on three primary areas. The first area is providing furnishings for their space. They want to create a welcoming environment for everyone coming through their doors. The second area is in education and outreach; being able to meet people where they’re at in their recovery journey, reducing stigma for those in recovery, and encouraging those in recovery to share their lived experience in support of others. The third area is marketing; making sure the Quaboag region including all 18 surrounding communities have a sense that there’s a new peer recovery support center in Ware and they’re welcome to come help create it.
“It’s a place for them to connect with community resources, to find jobs, housing and primarily to connect with other people who have lived experience in recovery,” Applebee added. “They can find a new way to be in their community as they find their way with a new identity and go through the process of healing.”…[READ MORE]