Around Town

Watertown Theater Group Has Educated About Addiction for 31 Years

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A foursome of actors kept a Watertown High School auditorium packed with students mesmerized during a recent performance as part of the Erase the Stigma Week. 

The actors came from the Improbable Players, a theater company made up of former substance abusers. The group was created by Watertown resident Lynn Bratley 31 years ago this October after she had gotten into recovery from alcohol addiction. The group has traveled around New England, educating students of all ages about substance abuse prevention. A satellite group of former members from the Boston area started another chapter in New York City, which tours around New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, Bratley said. Bratley, the founder, artistic director and executive director of Improbable Players, wrote and performed with the group for the first 10 years, or so.

Around Town

Watertown Comes Together to Bring Awareness to Addiction

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Comic Jack Lynch had a bit of a hard time getting laughs from the audience at the Watertown High School Gym Wednesday night, but people were focused on a serious issue facing the town – addiction to opiates and heroin. The program was the main public event for the Erase the Stigma Week, a series of events organized by a recently formed coalition known as WATERtown, (Watertown Access to Treatment, Education and Resources). The evening featured some very serious discussions of addiction, opioids and other drugs. The underlying message, however, is that addiction is a disease and treatment is available – and it works. Addiction has taken a toll locally and nationally.

Around Town

Watertown Hosting Events to Erase the Stigma of Opioid Addiction

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A number of town groups and town departments will join together for Erase the Stigma Week from Oct. 19-25. The Town, through the Departments of Health, Police and Recreation, community-based service and advocacy organizations, and concerned individuals have come together in a timely fashion to develop an Action Plan, according to the event announcement. The centerpiece of the Plan is a week of educational programs, awareness activities, and publicity schedule from Oct. 19 to Oct.

Government

Heroin Epidemic on Front Burner for Council Subcommittee

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The Council’s Human Services subcommittee will continue its effort to find ways to battle the heroin and opioid epidemic that has hit Watertown this year. 

While these drugs have been a problem for years, 2015 has seen a spike of cases, with dozen of reported overdoses, several of which were fatal. Monday night, the Human Services subcommittee meets at 7 p.m. in the Council Chamber at Town Hall to continue looking for ways to help addicts get treatment and enter recovery, as well as taking steps to prevent others from becoming addicted in the first place. Some steps have already been taken. At the July 14 Town Council meeting, councilors voted to recommend that the Town Manager take steps to have all Watertown Police officers trained to use the anti-overdose drug Narcan, and have the medication in all patrol cars. The Fire Department already carries Narcan.

Environment

Grant for ‘Green’ Lights, Fire Negotiations Update & Heroin Crisis Discussion

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Watertown will replace several hundred street lights with energy efficient LED lights thanks to a grant awarded to the town by the state. Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito announced the awarding of a $207,505 Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources grant to Watertown as part of the Green Community Competitive Grant program, Town Manager Michael Driscoll told the Town Council Tuesday. The money, along with $92,495 in incentives from Eversource, will pay for the $300,000 project to replace 800 high-pressure sodium and mercury vapor street lights with LED lights, Driscoll said. The new lights will provide the equivalent amount of light while consuming 62 percent less energy,” Driscoll said. The town is expected to save $50,000 in energy costs annually.

Around Town

Two Watertown Groups Formed to Support Addicts, Family Members

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Overcoming addiction to heroin and other opioids and be a long, frustrating odyssey, but Watertown residents have two places to turn for people who know about the journey to recovery. Heroin and opiates have become a growing problem in Watertown, with a recent spike of overdoses and deaths due to drugs. Eight people have died so far this year from drug overdoses. The two groups, both of which have spread the word on Facebook, have different focuses. One aims to help people battling addiction, while the other is a place for the family of addicts to lend support and help.

Government

Councilors Gathering Ideas to Battle Opiate Epidemic in Watertown

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The Council’s Human Services Committee wants the town to take steps to battle the increasingly deadly problem of addiction to heroin and other opiates, and plans to put together an action plan with the help of the Police, Health Department, doctors and local addiction and recovery experts. 

Tuesday night, the Human Services Committee held an unfortunately timely meeting, just days after two Watertown residents died from drug overdoses and a third went to hospital for treatment. This brings the death toll from drugs up to eight this year, said Watertown Police Lt. Dan Unsworth, after just one death all of last year. The meeting packed the Lower Hearing Room of Town Hall, and the discussion lasted more than 2-1/2 hours. Follow the exchange of ideas, the subcommittee – Tony Palomba and Aaron Dushku – came up with some recommendations to bring to the full Town Council. The first recommendation was to have all Watertown Police officers carry Narcan – a medication that can reverse the effects of an overdose.

Around Town

Watertown Firefighters Now Armed with Antidote for Heroin Overdoses

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Deaths from overdoses caused by heroin and other opioids has risen in Massachusetts, and has even impacted Watertown. The Watertown Fire Department is one of the first departments to have access to an antidote for overdoses. Starting on Feb. 20, all Watertown fire vehicles began carrying Nalaxone, a drug that can be given as an antidote to a person suspected of suffering from an opioid overdose, said Watertown Fire Chief Mario Orangio. Opioids also include prescription painkiller medicines codeine and oxycontin.