MOAR News at a Glance:
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MOAR Quarterly January 7th Meeting: Faces and Voices of Recovery ~
Changing The Conversation about Addiction ~ Worcester
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MOAR Testimony - Treatment Works and Recovery is a Reality
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MOAR Website http://www.neaar.org/moar/
Take A Peek!
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Celebrate Women in Recovery with the Boston Consortium 2/14 - The State House
2002 BSAS Budget Cuts Equal $6.7Million in Lost Services
MA Bureau of Substance Abuse Services was slashed over $3million in services, with another $3million related to AIDS funding. MOAR recognizes that without the cuts, Massachusetts was only able to serve 75,000 of the 406, 000 residents, who annually need alcohol and other addiction treatment. This means we are talking about 406,000 "needy" persons. Does it make sense there is $700 million for a baseball team, and not $6.7 million for needy people. MOAR regional meetings will focus on a regional and statewide recovery campaign to educate the public and policymakers about the value of recovery from alcohol and other addictions. People in recovery, inclusive of the family often blend into the invisible norm of society. Let's demonstrate MOAR openly:
Faces and Voices of Recovery are: Visible, Vocal, Valuable
So The Focus for:
MOAR Quarterly Meeting, Community HealthLink , Worcester
MOAR welcomes all potential and current members to join MOAR to build a statewide
recovery movement. The CSAT -Center for Substance Abuse Treatment, National Treatment Plan Calls for Changing The Conversation about Addiction Recovery!
Let's act on the plan to change attitudes, build partnerships, commit quality,
invest for results, ----with no wrong door to treatment. MOAR clarification:
Let's act on the plan to reduce stigma by community partnership to improve treatment access and quality. Let's plan to tell our stories of recovery to the public and policymakers, and what supports are valuable. Let's be MOAR simply creative.
We can establish working committees and a speaker's bureau. We thank Community
HealthLink for giving us the meeting space for helping MOAR to link statewide!
Missed the Quarterly MOAR Meeting! MOAR Regions Await You!
Lowell ~ Friday, January 11, 10:30 AM, first floor conference room, Tewksbury Hospital
Worcester ~ Tuesday, January 22, 6:30 PM, PIP Shelter, Main Street
Boston ~ Monday, January 28, 7 PM, Atrium I and II, Faulkner Hospital
Springfield ~ Thursday, January 31, 5:30 PM, Phoenix House, 5 Madison Ave
New Bedford ~ Tuesday, February 5, 6 PM, Reflections,497 Belleville Ave
Springfield Focus on Screening and Treatment Access
November 29th and December 27th Springfield attendees: Diane Kurtz, Donna Rivest, Melanie Roy, Ruth Jacobsen-Hardy, Tanyss Martula, Jodi Quinn, Geraldine Porth, Bill Sciturro, Janet Bruce, Bob Pisani, Kristina Hallett, Karen Sullivan, Diane Teta, Pete Crumb, Beth Drummond, Frank Kraft, Deenie Porth, Delinda Dykes, focused attention on improving emergency room and overall medical attention to adolescent alcohol and other drug use. Attendees shared concern about what appears to be lack of standard assessment protocols. Bob Pisani, Phoenix Academy and Janet Bruce, MA Behavioral Partnership are partnering to educate emergency personnel. In fact, MA Behavioral Health Partnership, the state behavioral health Medicaid vendor is now mandating alcohol and other drug education for their primary care personnel.
The question was raised if there needs to be a media campaign to educate the public about the state of insurance coverage for treatment needs. Issues of limited coverage, medical necessity "definer", unattainable benefits were discussed. Ways to address denial of care were addressed, and plans for a workshop are in the making. Attendees agreed to the need for a coalition to address the needs to make quality care for our youth and family a reality. Nobody wants to see any part of the continuum cut. Outreach and education are needed to make this process work.
Parents continue to be concerned about the lack of adolescent detox facilities. Data needs to be gathered to establish the overriding need for adolescent detoxes and people trained specifically with adolescent and family counseling skills.
Helping the distressed parent in the emergency room, or an adolescent who can admit need for help was the identifiable issue for many in the room. Both feel the stigma and need help. Everyone shared concern about recent budget accounts. What can we do in the short range. Western MA Parent Support group facilitators agreed to placement of meeting flyers in the emergency rooms. MOAR members strategized putting out MOAR information for parents ready to learn advocacy.
Note: MOAR is attending working groups of government agencies, providers, parents
concerned about youth and family services in Florence, Lowell, Worcester, and Boston. We are learning that communication, identification, and partnering are promoting
referral linkages. MOAR is working to increasing the family voice for recovery services.
Worcester MOAR Concerned with Budget Cuts; Battling Stigma inThe Neighborhood
Most Worcester attendees have been supported in the recovery process by recovery homes. People emphasized that the structure gave them a foundation for recovery. They, also, shared that their experience would demonstrate that any cut to the continuum effects all. The Worcester MOAR chapter shared their goal of wanting to learn to educate the public and policymakers about the value of treatment in their recovery.
Further concern led to recent letters to the editor from a neighborhood organization fighting against Worcester treatment expansion. The letters would lead the public to believe that treatment degraded the neighborhood. MOAR members in Worcester do not want to be unfairly defined and stigmatized , thus have increased their resolve to become visible and vocal. They want to be viewed as valuable members of their community. They made a plan to write their own letters to the editor, too.
Attending the meeting were: Bonnie, Florette, Miroslow, Jose, Buddy, Ray, Theresa, Peter, Dave, Brenda, Rena, Kimberly, Robin, Maureen, Tammie, Pam, Ron, Joanne, Pamela, Steve, David, Donald, Kevin , Cindy, Judy, Tara, and Dana.
Boston Chapter Meets with Researchers
Researchers Lisa Leroy and Samantha Dunn of the New England Research Institute met with both the Boston and Lowell MOAR chapters to review responses to their 3 year survey of people in recovery. They were seeking feedback and advice as they begin to analyze the responses of the 250 men and women they interviewed about their substance abuse, health and treatment. In particular, they were focused on two areas in their discussions with MOAR. What factors were most helpful to people's recovery and, conversely, what factors most interfered with people's recovery. Answers in these two areas were the most difficult for them to quantify and they sought MOAR input to help assure them they accurately captured the essence of the participants' responses. It was a very energetic and thought provoking meeting, resulting in the New England Research Institute requesting if MOAR would be willing to enter into a collaboration to better define "a working definition of recovery."
MOAR Boston made an emphatic decision to better outreach more recovery community members. The impact of recent budget cuts to the Bureau of Substance Abuse Services is of grave concern to recovering people, their families and friends. Facing a direct loss of $6.7 million with cuts in the state budget and the possible failure to receive matching federal funds. This does not speak to the $6 to $8 million in under funding already existing for detox facilities or the $11 million cut in 1991 that has only been incrementally replaced. MOAR does not lobby, it has a mission to educate the public about the value of recovery to society. We invite all concerned to participate! Present in Boston were; Yvette Beaton-Hill, Mishell Lilly, Amos Marshall, Greg Arsenault, Joe Kelleher, Paul Carey, John Frazier, Dana Moulton, Elaine Appel, Lisa Leroy and Samantha Dunn.
Lowell Chapter Meets with Researchers
Fear that budget cuts could undermine treatment availability and quality were very much alive at the table. Attendees, as in other regions wanted to share how treatment has positively impacted their recovery. MOAR Lowell members, also, met with Lisa Leroy and Samantha Dunn of the New England Research Institute, giving their input to NERI's questions regarding things that they found to be beneficial to their recovery. They pointed out that in their treatment they all benefited from the structure that residential treatment provided them. The women shared that the social model experience of group support, individual responsibility, self-help choice and personal attention were all integral to their recovery process. Present at the Lowell meeting were; Stacey, Donna, Ellen, Amanda, Pat, Janice, Kathy, Lisa, Michelle, Sandra, Kerri, Jane, Jane, Nancy, Sara, Joan, Janice, Susan, Samantha Dunn, and Lisa Leroy.
New Bedford Shares Concerns
New Bedford members shared wanting to invest time in educating policymakers about the fact that quality treatment is really an investment---and they know from their personal recovery. People agreed that the cuts, CORI, and housing issues require attention. They expressed that speaking up as a community can lead to positive impact. Among those attending the November 20th meeting were: Brian, Dan, Kevin, Nancy, Helen, Dennis, Katy, Jonathan, George, Ulysses, and Dana.
MOAR Members Testify at December 11th & 18th EOHHS Hearings
A diverse group of treatment providers, treatment advocates, the recovery community gathered at the University of Massachusetts and The State House to offer testimony before the Executive Office of Health and Human Services of the importance of the whole addiction recovery continuum of care.
MOAR Goes to City Hall
The Boston City Council invited the community to speak about the value of addiction treatment and recovery. People from the medical, public health, criminal justice spoke in unison about treatment's benefit. Many shared concern about the impact that impairs the road to treatment- experiencing stigma was the noted challenge. Dana Moulton, MOAR member shared his path to recovery- with many trials- his coping with relapse-and the hope inspired by treatment. Today, he celebrates 8 years of recovery. Boston City Councilors applauded Dana's personal sharing, and impact on them.
A summation: Depriving substance abuse treatment services of funds is in effect robbing Peter to pay Paul, with Paul being the criminal justice costs and medical costs that could result when people go without treatment services. With the average cost of treatment being $12,500 vs. $40,000 plus for incarceration or the high cost for treatment of HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis C contracted as the result of drug use, slashing treatment money is not a prudent choice. This does not speak of the human cost to families and in communities.
Lets Speak Up for Recovery
You, too can do MOAR! Five MOAR region meetings await you!
Call Maryanne Frangules, MOAR Project Coordinator, 617-423-6627
Funding for The MOAR News mailing is from MOAR membership contributions and resources, and fundraising activities, separate from project funding. MOAR, is a NEAAR affiliate, grantee # 1KD1TI11642 through the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment, SAMHSA, USDHHS, and receives funding from MA DPH BSAS through AdCare Educational institute. The contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not represent the official views of the agency, The Center for Substance Abuse Treatment, SAMHSA or MA DPH/BSAS.
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