Learning about addiction close to home


SHARON — "In Our Own Backyard: Alcohol and Drug Use, Abuse and Addiction" will be the focus of a panel discussion Thursday, April 12, at 7 p.m. at Sharon Hospital’s Four Trees Cafe.

The purpose of the forum is to inform providers of critical care of the particular issues of those affected by abuse and addiction. The panel will have representatives from the fields of medical, mental health, law enforcement (New York and Connecticut) and the growing recovery community on both sides of the state line.

Bill Simmons, a program coordinator at Mountainside Treatment Center in North Canaan, host of "Sunday In the Country" on radio station Q-103, and a volunteer fireman in Millerton, N.Y., said he got the idea from discussions on the radio show with Jim Hutchinson of Sharon Hospital.

"What happens is that the same guys respond to the same person having a drug- or alcohol-related emergency — car crashes, overdoses, and so on.

"We got to talking about how it would be good to provide some information for the first responders about addictions, not only so they can be more educated, but so they don’t get resentful when they see the same people in trouble again and again."

Simmons pitched the idea of a forum or presentation of some kind to his superiors at Mountainside; Cynthia Bianchi from the Housatonic Youth Services Bureau came on board, as did law enforcement agencies from New York and Connecticut.

And now it’s a full-blown event, a collaborative presentation of Sharon Hospital, Mountainside and the Housatonic Youth Service Bureau, designed for emergency first responders, social service providers, human resource specialists and community members of both Connecticut’s Northwest Corner and Dutchess County in New York.

The general public is also welcome.

For more information, call Matt Eakin or Bill Simmons at Mountainside, 860-824-1397. There is no charge to attend; refreshments will be served.


— Patrick Sullivan

 

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