Falmouth – The Massachusetts HEALing Communities Study will host a faith community forum on opioid use and overdose prevention on Thursday, May 19 from 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm, with complimentary dinner and refreshments provided from 5:30 to 6:30 pm.  The forum will provide information about the many pathways available to face the challenges of opioid addiction and ways to provide resources to those struggling with substance use disorder. The free event is open to the public and will be held at Saint Barnabas’s Episcopal Church, 91 Main Street in Falmouth.

This event is being hosted by Reverend Will Mebane of Saint Barnabas’s Episcopal Church and Rabbi Elias Lieberman of the Falmouth Jewish Congregation, and will feature personal stories of recovery from community members.  A panel discussion will feature Sarah Bagley, MD, Boston Medical Center; Nancy Regan, Nurse Practitioner and Manager of Substance Use Disorder Program, Community Health Center; Kate Lena, Substance Use Prevention Program Manager, Barnstable County Human Services; and Jeff Rose Sr., Recovery Coach, Community Health Center. The Community Harm Reduction and Treatment (CHART) mobile van will also be at the event and will offer an optional naloxone training to those interested in learning how to reverse an opioid overdose.

Through personal stories and an engaging panel discussion, this forum will address faith-based communities’ response to the opioid epidemic and discuss topics such as talking to loved ones who are struggling with addiction; the role of mental health in addiction; the use and benefits of medications for opioid use disorder; recovery coaching and peer support; and harm reduction principles and benefits. 
                          
This program is part of the Bourne and Sandwich HEALing Communities Study-Massachusetts Coalition, convened by Boston Medical Center and sponsored by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). The coalition is attended by a multi-disciplinary group of community stakeholders including local and state government, public health and health care agencies, harm reduction agencies, criminal justice and law enforcement, recovery centers, and individuals with lived experience.  This study aims to decrease opioid-related fatalities in Bourne and Sandwich and 15 other Massachusetts communities. To learn more about this study, and other programs to help individuals with substance use disorders, please visit www.HEALTogetherMA.org/Barnstable.

For more information about the event or to RSVP, please email Anna Martin at [email protected].