Watertown News (https://www.watertownmanews.com/tag/opioids/page/4/)
Watertown Overcoming Addiction will hold its second annual Candlelight Vigil to remember those lost to drug use and addiction. Last year, hundreds of friends and families of those who lost their battle with substance use, and many others filled St. Patrick’s Church’s Lower Hall. This year’s vigil will be held on Sept. 21, 2016 at 7 p.m. in the Lower Hall at St.
The WATERtown Task Force on Substance Abuse will sponsor a forum about addiction and recovery in September. The public forum, which is co-sponsored by the task force and St. James Armenian Church, will take place on Wednesday, Sept. 14, from 7-9 p.m. at St. James Armenian Church, 465 Mount Auburn St., Watertown.
The Watertown Police Department is pleased to announce the kickoff of the Free Community Narcan Distribution Program. A collaborative effort on the part of several entities made this initiative possible. Our first partner in this project was the Watertown Community Foundation which provided support in the form of grant funding. The Watertown Police Department was then able to establish a partnership with the Walgreen’s pharmacy located at 15 Main St. in Waltham.
Narcan can be used to save the life of someone overdosing on opiates or heroin, and a free training for how to use the medicine will be offered by a Watertown addiction treatment center. Right Turn sent out the following information:
Right Turn will present A Narcan training on Monday, April 4 at 7 p.m. The clinic located at 440 Arsenal St., in Watertown. Free Narcan nasal spray will be provided. The training will be facilitated by Alex Bettencourt, Division of Prevention – The Victory Program. The Right Turn Family Group is open to the public with a suggested $5 donation to defray the cost of the space.
Watertown’s efforts to end addiction and fight the opioid crisis have been noticed at the state level, and one of the local leaders has been appointed by Gov. Charlie Baker to serve on a state board.
What had been scheduled to be a regular meeting of the Watertown Access to Treatment, Education and Resources Task Force (WATERtown) turned into a celebration of member Woody Giessmann’s new position. Gov. Baker came to the Watertown Free Public Library to swear in Giessmann to his seat on the Massachusetts Board of Registration and Medicine. Giessmann was a member of the Del Fuegos, and is in long term recovery. He is founder and CEO of Right Turn, an outpatient treatment center for those seeking to recover from addiction located in Watertown. “I judge myself not by what I have, but what I am willing to give,” Giessmann said.
Watertown Overcoming Addiction and Belmont Overcoming Addiction need your help! We have teamed together to help raise more awareness, education, support and hope for those suffering from Substance Use Disorder and for their loved ones. We will bring these efforts forward with a new cable show addressing this crisis. We are asking Belmont and Watertown High School students to come up with 1) a name for the show; and 2) a logo for the show. Both should communicate the challenges of Substance Use Disorder and recovery for the individual and their loved ones.
A room filled with people searching for ways to end the epidemic of heroin and opioid addiction listened with rapt attention Tuesday afternoon to the Massachusetts police chief credited with finding a new and effective way of tackling the problem. After four people in his community died from heroin overdoses last spring, Gloucester Police Chief Leonard Campanello decided to move away from the traditional model of arresting drug user. His department announced on Facebook that any addict who walks into the police station with all of their drug equipment and drugs and asks for help will not be charged. Instead they would be helped to get treatment. The message resonated far beyond Gloucester.
Big issues seemed to be everywhere you looked around Watertown in 2015, with new developments, the firefighter contract, the opioid epidemic and the Town Election, plus Watertown athletes enjoyed great success. Development
Rising above all the major issues this year was development. A number of major projects were proposed in town, many of which were approved. In January, the controversial East Watertown CVS got approved. In June, the major apartment complex on Arsenal Street, Elan Watertown, received approval – a project that went through the town’s new Design Standards and Guidelines.