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DA’s Office Awards $114K for Projects Promoting Recovery

by | Feb 27, 2023 | In The News

Staff Report
Published: 2/26/2023 1:44:50 PM

NORTHAMPTON — The Northwestern District Attorney’s Office has announced $114,000 in grants to community groups working with youth and families and supporting people in recovery, as part of its Asset Forfeiture Community Reinvestment Program.

Funds for the grants come from asset forfeitures through which the office redistributes funds seized in drug-related cases. The money is given to community organizations working on drug rehabilitation, drug education and other anti-drug programs that aim to foster healthy communities and support law enforcement efforts to prevent crime.

“There are so many ways to build resilience in our communities even during trying times,” Northwestern District Attorney David Sullivan said in a statement.

The top awards of $20,000 each went to the North Quabbin Recovery Center in Athol and the Recovery Center of Hope in Ware, serving the Quaboag Hills region.

“We wanted to give an extra boost to the newer peer recovery centers in the region, which are not yet fully funded by the state as are The RECOVER Project in Greenfield and the Northampton Recovery Center,” Sullivan said. “We know from experience that peer-focused recovery centers provide essential support to help people in recovery continue on that journey.”

The Northampton and Greenfield centers received $5,000 each. The Northampton center, in its earliest years, was supported by the DA’s office through staff time and funding until it became part of the network of state-funded recovery centers…[continue reading]

Peer Recovery Center in Ware Receives Activation Fund Grant

Peer Recovery Center in Ware Receives Activation Fund Grant

by | Nov 15, 2022 | In The News

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]

Art, Connectivity, and Community Bring ‘aWAREness’ to Recovery

by | Sep 8, 2022 | In The News

Terri Thompson of The Consortium and Abaigeal Duda, Peer Recovery Project Coordinator for the Ware Regional Recovery Center (Recovery Center of H.O.P.E.).[/caption]

By Marcella Comerford, Reporter
[email protected] 

September 8, 2022

WARE, MA – A show solely catering to the artworks of those in recovery does not show up often, yet the community impact of such a show can be enormous, bringing out the faces of addiction in ways unusual and profoundly human, opening channels of communication and understanding through art. Workshop13 and ArtWorks Gallery partnered with the new, soon to be opened, Ware Regional Recovery Center to present “Bringing aWAREness to Recovery Art Exhibition,” featuring artists in recovery from drugs and alcohol.

The opening was held on National Overdose Awareness Day, August 31, 2022, coinciding with the start of National Recovery Month in September. [CONTINUE READING] (more…)

Baystate Wing Hospital Awards $30,000 In Grants

Baystate Wing Hospital Awards $30,000 In Grants

by | Jun 21, 2022 | In The News

By 
June 17, 2022

PALMER —  Baystate Wing Hospital has announced an investment of $30,000 in grants to benefit local community-based nonprofit organizations. The grant awards were given to the Quaboag Valley Community Development Corporation, the Quaboag Connector to support local transportation in the region, the Ware Fire Department to support Emergency Medical Services (EMS) and paramedic training, and to the Ware Regional Recovery Center to increased access to support and expand knowledge about recovery support services and resources in the region.

“Everyone is strengthened when we work together to build and sustain a culture of health and wellness within our communities,” said Molly Gray, president and chief administrative officer for Baystate Health’s Eastern Region, which includes Baystate Wing Hospital and Baystate Mary Lane Outpatient Center. “We are very happy to support the work with our community partners with these grant investments.”

[…]

Growing Strong: Ware Regional Recovery Center’s Next Chapter

The $3500 grant to the Ware Regional Recovery Center, a program of the Western Massachusetts Training Consortium, will support their work in the Quaboag Hills Region to respond with increased momentum in raising community awareness about local access to recovery support and resources, to decrease stigma and to encourage people to seek out recovery support services in a time of critical need.

[CONTINUE READING]

Baystate Wing Hospital Awards $30,000 In Grants

Building a new recovery coach program

by | Feb 3, 2022 | In The News

BY SUE DALEY
THE SENTINEL • THURSDAY, JANUARY 27, 2022

[…] In 2021, I was hired by the Western Massachusetts Training Consortium to serve as the first recovery coach supervisor for the Ware Regional Recovery Center. It is exciting to be helping to build a new recovery coach program in the Quaboag Hills Region. When I was first in recovery, 21 years ago, I did not have the option of a recovery coach, who is a peer who helps another overcome obstacles to sobriety. We undergo training and extensive supervision.

I choose to do this because I have been through my own experiences in recovery, and I know that there are many obstacles and consequences due to substance use. I want to be there for someone “where they are,” and help them make positive choices that meet their unique needs and circumstances. Some people opt for 12-step programs or seek spiritual guidance. Others choose a multi-service approach that might include clinical, spiritual and peer supports. Regardless, my goal is to help each person build confidence and self-esteem and to move past whatever shame they may feel. They may choose to work with me for a few weeks or months, or maybe a year. Every circumstance is different. Sometimes, I just help someone connect with basic necessities, and I am with them to learn new skills and to laugh together along the way. Recovery is challenging, and it’s important to laugh. […] It is very fulfilling to see a recoveree feel empowered to move forward and connected to their community in a positive way.

We have made a solid start in the Quaboag Region, and I am excited about what we can provide the community in 2022.

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